Chapter 36
Aisling
Present day
Half an hour later we’re all setting up on the back porch, Wyatt finally changed out of his military gear and their parents heading both ends of the table.
It’s a bright and sparkly summer afternoon, with the sunrays turning the garden into the perfect suntrap.
Tanner pulls my chair out before I reach it, leaning down to kiss my cheek before sitting himself beside me. His dad seems to be the head chef in the house when he’s not away on deployment, being responsible for not only most of the cooking but the plating up too. His striking eyes flash to mine every time he goes to add something to my plate, waiting for me to accept or refuse whatever it is that he’s offering.
It’s so heart-squeezingly endearing that I say yes to every single thing.
Cookie is sprawled on her belly beside Wyatt’s big boots, glittery eyes peeking up at him every time he lifts his fork to his mouth, and Cobie’s chin rests on her tiny back, gaze flitting keenly from plate to plate.
When he glances up at me his tongue happily lolls out of his mouth.
“How long now until the season starts?” Tanner’s dad asks.
He’s holding his beer bottle under the table and he wrenches off the top with a quick grunt. His eyes meet his son’s as he takes a long pull.
Tanner’s eyes flick between his food and his dad’s unwavering gaze.
“You mean ’til I start training for the NHL as an official player on Larch Peak’s team?” he asks.
His dad says, “Yeah.”
Tanner shovels in another mouthful.
I watch him in awe. The man can eat.
“The official start is in two months, but there’s some preliminary stuff before then. And” – Tanner glances down at me, squeezing my thigh – “we might head to the rink prior to that anyway.”
“Thought you couldn’t do unofficial training once you’re signed,” Wyatt says, biting off the cap of his own beer and then spitting it out like a trucker.
“ Wyatt ,” his dad barks, which makes Tanner chuckle quietly.
Wyatt holds up his palms and goes to retrieve the rogue beer cap.
Like Tanner’s, Wyatt’s plate is also more than half empty. I look down at my own, spear some green beans, and try to catch up.
They’re caramelised green beans. Tanner’s dad is freaking incredible.
“We won’t be training,” Tanner says, squeezing his palm over my thigh. “Just need some ice-time with Ash before game season begins.”
“Oh, can you skate?” Tanner’s mom asks me, smiling excitedly.
“Um,” I say, well aware that she’s a gold-medal-winning Olympic figure skater. “I’m not sure that you can call what I do ‘skating’,” I admit, laughing nervously.
Tanner’s palm roams to my knee, warm and reassuring.
“She’s only skated twice before, Mom,” he tells her. “But I’m gonna try and teach her a little before I’m on the road.”
“Adorable,” Wyatt smirks.
Tanner flicks a cherry tomato at him.
Wyatt catches it in his mouth.
“ Boys ,” their mom groans, dropping her face into her palms.
“Have you bought a place yet?” Tanner’s dad asks, his eyes flicking my way briefly in a silent extra question.
Namely: are you two going to be living together ?
Tanner rolls his shoulders, setting his cutlery neatly on his plate. His empty plate. The man is simply unstoppable. I shovel in another forkful of potato salad, borderline swallowing it whole in order to speed up.
“Haven’t bought a place yet,” Tanner admits, his voice deep as he drops his gaze to mine. He moves his hand from my knee so that he can splay it over my lower back. “We haven’t… spoken about it yet. Ash’s plans are still up in the air.”
“Oh?” his mom asks, eyes kind as she leans forward, paying me her full attention.
Tanner nods down at me, encouraging me to open up a little.
“Well,” I rasp, looking down at my lap to refold my napkin, “I’m going to be working for my family’s business – they’re in real estate. But I want to be part of a division that they don’t really have yet. So, careerwise, I’m up in the air.”
My cheeks heat up and Tanner’s hand strokes me harder.
“The job is partially remote,” Tanner rumbles, his eyes on mine when I look up at him from my napkin. “And Ash knows that if she chooses to she can move in with me when I get my place.”
My heart stumbles in my chest because we haven’t talked about this before.
But I tuck a curl behind my ear and nod before returning to the green beans, not sure yet how to respond to such an obvious offer of commitment. Of generosity.
Exclusivity .
A sudden knock at the front door has the two dogs immediately jumping to their feet, Cookie bolting in through the open patio and Cobie shooting a look to Linc. When he gets the nod of approval Cobie instantly chases in after her, the sunlight streaking across his fur like a bright flash of caramel.
Tanner’s eyes flick to his mom’s, his irises sparkling as she smiles back at him.
“Is that…?” he asks, laughing as she nods her head.
“Christ,” Wyatt says, shaking his head and grinning. He jerks his thumb toward his brother and says, “This guy and his love for cobbler. You’d never guess it from looking at him, would you?”
Tanner gives my waist a squeeze as he moves to stand, eyes on mine after a gentle kiss to the cheek.
“They ordered in dessert,” he murmurs. “I’m gonna grab the door, okay?”
I nod up at him and he leans down to press a kiss to my forehead, not a hint of embarrassment on his face as his parents and brother stare at us in awe-struck silence.
Which is fine, because I’ve turned red enough for the both of us.
When we hear Tanner opening the front door, accompanied by the happy yips of his dogs, Wyatt tips his chin at me and says, “Wait until you try this cobbler.”
I can’t help but drop my chin into my palms, eyes on my empty plate as I laugh.
“He’s actually already had me try it,” I admit, scrunching my nose in happiness.
Wyatt shoves his chair away from the table, eyes crinkling as he chuckles.
“You’re shitting me,” he grins.
“ Wyatt ,” his mom laughs, slapping one of his biceps to try and prevent further swearing.
Ten seconds later Tanner steps out of the patio doors, holding the tray of piping hot cobbler in one hand while the dogs jump around his legs, making him place his steps carefully so as not to step on them.
He runs his other hand over the khaki cap sat backwards on his head, which he must have picked up during his trek through the kitchen. He looks laidback and way too hot to handle.
When he catches me staring he smiles at me and winks.
His dad glances up at him as he swaps the cute gold-trimmed dinner plates for dessert ones.
“Hat,” Linc orders. “Off.”
Tanner places the cobbler in the centre of the table before settling heavily into the seat beside me. Then he gently moves the cap from his head to mine.
“Tanner!” I hiss, which makes him smirk handsomely down at me.
My eyes fly over to his dad and I quickly reach up to take it off but after a long look at his son Linc glances down at me, subtly gesturing that I can leave it on.
“Where’d you find it anyway?” Wyatt asks, his voice rough. He flicks a glance at his brother as he helps him remove the foil covering from the cobbler.
“What?” Tanner asks.
“The cap.”
Tanner’s eyes flash to mine, our secret heating the air between us.
I didn’t know any significance to Tanner’s cap when I kept it as my Carter U hostage, but what I do know is that it was never lost – Tanner let me keep it.
Before Tanner can answer his mom leans toward me.
“Oh Aisling, he used to wear that thing all of the time. Military green, like army fatigues – it’s always been his favourite colour. It was too big for him at first but he’s a big guy now, so he grew into it.”
Wyatt smirks and says callously, “He does have a pretty big head now.”
Tanner flashes his eyes to his brother, smirking back at him as he slides his forearm over the back of my chair.
“You see who I brought to the dinner table? Of course I’ve got a big head,” Tanner replies, before turning his gaze back to me and giving me a handsome smile. He leans down to my cheek, brushing a gentle kiss over it before whispering, “You can see my other big head later.”
My eyes grow wide, cheeks heating, as I bite back my laughter and shove him off of me. It only encourages him to envelop his palm around my hip, clutching me tighter as his dad stands up to dish out dessert.
Tanner’s mom watches us in silence for a few beats before saying to Tanner with a curious lilt in her tone, “You know, I thought that maybe you had given it away.”
Tanner runs his fingers through his hair, knee bouncing up and down as he rumbles, “I kinda did.”
Linc scoops out large servings of cobbler while his wife grabs ice cream from the kitchen, setting it in the centre of the table before sitting back down into her seat.
Wyatt laughs at the serving size, borderline overflowing from the small lilac dessert plate.
“You tryna put me in a food coma?” he asks his dad.
Linc glances at him as he takes his seat. “You complaining?”
“No, sir,” Wyatt grins. “I plan on sleeping this whole week through anyway.”
Tanner looks up at his brother across the table. Half of Tanner’s cobbler has already magically disappeared. “Did you really just get back today?” he asks him.
Wyatt nods, shovelling in another mouthful, before gesturing toward his dad with his fork and looking up at Tanner. “We both did. But dad got changed and shit as soon as we came home, whereas I napped on the sofa for, like, two hours straight. Then Cobe almost pissed on my feet and I realised that you must’ve arrived. Although now,” he adds, flashing me a handsome grin, “I realise that your woman here is what all the excitement was about.”
Tanner pauses his chewing for a brief moment, scoping out whether or not he wants to retaliate to his brother’s comment. Then he feels my hand caress gently against his quad and he resumes his chewing, squeezing me back.
“We’re all going to have an early night tonight,” Linc rumbles quietly, slapping another scoop of ice cream on his plate before passing the tub back to Wyatt. “Like your mother said, y’all are welcome to stay over, for as long as you’d like.”
Tanner looks at me for confirmation and I nod up at him, wanting him to spend as much time with his family as possible.
He wraps his arm around me tighter and says, “Yeah, we’d love to stay over. Thought you guys would want to head out tonight though, celebrate with friends in town or something.”
Linc shakes his head. “Maybe in a couple days’ time. In the meantime, we’ve got about seven months worth of sleep to catch up on.”
“When are you seeing Jason?” his wife asks him, leaning down for a moment so that she can scoop Cookie up off the floor. The dog cuddles up to her in contentment, eyes closing as she smoothes down her fur.
“He’s heading up tomorrow,” Linc replies.
Sensing my lack of understanding, Wyatt supplies for me, “Jason Coleson, one of his former military buddies. Stopping over for a few nights from Phoenix Falls.”
Linc scoops in a mouthful of cobbler and says quietly, “He’s a good man.”
“What about you?” I ask Wyatt, playing with my little spoon.
I appreciate that Tanner’s brother has also been trying to make me feel at home, and so I think that I should take the olive branch he’s extending by starting to actively get to know him.
He leans back in his chair, smiling down at me lazily. “What about me?”
“Are you going to celebrate your homecoming in town?” I ask. “What you guys do for this country is incredible. Everyone in Carter Ridge will see you as a hero.”
Wyatt grins at me from across the table, the smile creases in his cheeks so similar to his brother’s.
“That’s sweet,” he smiles, his voice low and gruff. “You’re real sweet.”
Then he glances over to Tanner and says, “How the hell did you land this chick?”
Tanner squeezes my knee beneath the table and flashes a grin to his brother.
“God delivered. I signed.”
I burst out laughing at that one, shoving him playfully as he smirks down at me.
“That’s got to be the most country thing that you’ve ever said. Like, literally ever,” I say through my giggles as he squeezes his arms around my shoulders, hauling me against him so that he can kiss my cheeks.
“That’s the most country thing that anyone has ever said,” Linc agrees quietly, his expression still stoic although I see the hint of a smile on his handsome mouth.
“Mason, why don’t you show Aisling your room, and your father and I will clear up this table?” his mom suggests, giving us that aw, young love kind of smile.
Tanner pulls back an inch, eyes sliding down to the table.
“Can’t,” he says. “She’s still eating her cobbler.”
I’ve eaten about half of the mountain that Linc scooped out for me and, honestly, I currently have no more room for it.
But you know who probably does?
“Tanner.” I squeeze his forearm. “Would you like to finish my cobbler?”
Tanner’s eyes flash down to mine, his irises sparkling before he glances at the cobbler.
He swipes his tongue over his lower lip, shaking his head.
“You should… you should have it,” he rasps. “It’s yours. I’ve already had my share.”
I try not to laugh.
“I’m offering it to you because I know how much you like it,” I say quietly, grateful that his parents are currently talking too, so that I’m not a focal point.
Tanner rubs a hand down his jaw, stubble scratching over his palm as he flicks his eyes between me and the cobbler.
“You sure?” he rumbles hoarsely.
I feel my dimples deepen in my cheeks. My adorable country boy.
“Of course,” I tell him, laughing when he hunches down to crush a kiss to my cheek.
He takes the dessert spoon from my hand and uses it to scoop up half the serving in one go. Then he drops his forehead to my shoulder as he swallows it down, groaning quietly against my neck and making me giggle.
I fiddle with the khaki cap set low over my eyes before wrapping my arms around his large shoulders, feeling so contentedly at home.
“This is, like, the best moment of my life,” he rumbles. I giggle quietly as he purposefully scrapes my skin with his stubble.
Then he pulls back so that he can make the final scoop, his large palm massaging the nape of my neck as he finishes swallowing it down.
“’Kay,” he murmurs. “We’re gonna go to my room.” He glances between his parents and says, “Leave this stuff and I’ll come back down to clear it later.”
His dad grunts.
“No you damn won’t.” He jerks his chin in my direction. “Not when you’ve got company.”
Tanner rises to his feet, tugging me up with him. Cobie sits up to attention, tail thumping as he looks between us.
“I can do it tonight, when everyone’s in bed,” Tanner offers. Then he laughs incredulously, saying, “No way am I gonna let you do the dishes. Y’all just got back from deployment. Let me.”
Linc steeples his fingers, watching his son with sharp but thoughtful eyes.
“Mace,” he says finally, quiet and deep. “We can handle a few dishes. Trust me.” He gestures calmly with his large battle-scarred hand. “Now go and give your girl a tour of our home.”
I can see the argument warring in Tanner’s eyes but after a moment he thinks better of it and he wraps my hand in his.
“Thank you for the lovely meal,” I say over my shoulder as Tanner tugs me quickly through the porch door, his hand thrumming with adrenaline as he weaves us through the rustic kitchen.
I yelp as something hard shoves against my butt and we both turn around to see Cobie shooting me his guiltiest expression.
“Jesus,” Tanner murmurs, half-laughing as he positions himself behind me, away from further nose-butting. “Cobe’s crazy for your scent,” he says, his hands sliding down to my hips. “Not that I blame him,” he adds, chest swelling as he squeezes me.
When we reach the stairs he turns to the Alsatian. “Back to the porch, man.”
Cobie sits down on his back legs, tongue lolling innocently, even as his eyes glance up at the top landing.
“Cobe,” Tanner laughs. “Come on, man. Outside.”
He jerks his chin to where we just came from and waits it out until Cobie finally does a reluctant howl and then trudges back down the hallway.
Tanner takes my hand in his and leads me up the beautiful white staircase.
“How was that?” he asks me, his deep voice a little nervous. “What’d you think of everyone? Hope it was, uh, okay for a first meeting.”
We reach the top step and I nod up at him as he looks down at me.
“Everyone was so lovely. Your family is amazing.”
“Yeah?” he asks, his gorgeous eyes searching mine. “It was okay?”
“It was better than okay,” I laugh. “They were… so thoughtful. And considerate and kind.” I move to wrap my arms around his neck as his fingers start gripping at my waist. “Just like you.”
His mouth tugs into a half-smirk.
“Coming from the girl who let me finish her goddamn cobbler,” he rumbles, making me laugh delightedly as he ducks down to take my lips with his. He groans deeply as he hauls my body against his chest, his grip tightening on my waist as he shoves a door shut behind us.
I gasp as his mouth moves slowly down to my throat, sucking rough kisses into my skin as one of his palms roams up to squeeze my breasts.
“Are we in your bedroom?” I whisper, clutching him tighter as he caresses me.
“I fuckin’ hope so,” he rumbles, making my chest shake as I laugh.
He pulls back with hazy eyes, his shoulders heaving quickly up and down. Then he flicks his eyes across the room and nods, one of his hands tugging the cap off my head and tossing it gently on a pretty wooden dresser.
I allow myself to do a three-sixty in the room, more than a little surprised by the choice in décor. It’s all rustic and cosy, with low-beam ceilings that Tanner literally has to duck under. The only hint that this room once belonged to a teenage boy is the large TV and game console in the corner behind the door, with a cosy brown recliner set in front of it, where presumably he did those multi-player video games with his friends.
“I never had a games console,” I admit, running a hand through my curls as I shake them back over my shoulders.
“No?” he asks, gently brushing his fingers through my hair. “We can use it if you want. Haven’t touched that thing since I was about seventeen, though.”
We walk slowly around his room, him watching my expressions as I peek inside drawers and flick through a small pile of DVDs. When I move to the long wooden desk in front of the window I pause for a beat as my eyes land on a flyer.
I blink down at it before reaching over tentatively.
“Is that–?” I begin, just as Tanner shoves it off of the table, cheeks burning red as he moves in front of me, blocking the view.
I look up at his face, gorgeously rugged and flushed with embarrassment.
“Was that a cheer flyer?” I ask him incredulously, fighting the pull of my dimples. “Was that a flyer for one of my competitions?”
I already know the answer seeing as I helped design that flyer . Not to mention the fact that there’s a photo of me on it .
Tanner shoves a hand through his hair, chest pumping hard as he glances down at me.
The long-sleeved shirt really does nothing but accentuate his enormous biceps and pecs.
“Tanner?” I ask again, really smiling now.
“Yeah?” he rasps, dropping his eyes as he takes my hips.
“Did you… keep one of my Carter U cheer flyers?” I ask him, rubbing my palms over his chest as he drops his forehead to mine.
“What’d, uh… what’d make you say that?” he asks, his hands bunching the fabric of my dress, twisting it in his fists.
I squeeze his pecs and giggle. “Because that flyer on your desk had a photo of me on it.”
And it was also folded over multiple times so that I was the only girl he could see. My heart squeezes in pleasure but I refrain from mentioning that.
“Would that… bother you? If I did?” he says, panting slightly.
“Well, it’s a bit too late to ask that now seeing as I’ve already seen it, stalker,” I laugh teasingly.
He swallows hard, eyes molten when they meet mine.
“Is that weird?” he rumbles, walking me backwards until my thighs hit the soft cushioning of his bed. “That I kept it?”
I shake my head at him, eyes sparkling. Then I whisper, “What did you use it for?”
He pokes his tongue in his cheek, gaze raking down my front and then back up.
“You don’t have any social media,” he says gruffly, by way of explanation. Then he moves his mouth to my ear and murmurs, “You know exactly what I used it for.”
I breathe out a shaky exhale, hands moving to his biceps to squeeze him harder. “No way did you use it for that,” I whisper, and now it’s his turn to breathe out a laugh.
“Yeah way I used it for that,” he rumbles, hitting me with one of his belly-flipping smirks before dipping his mouth down to mine.
Sunlight streams in through the window as he helps me wrap my arms up around his broad shoulders, hunching low so that he can kiss me while we stand.
I jump up onto my tip-toes to lessen the distance between us and I feel him smile against my lips, chuckling quietly.
“Shortie,” he murmurs, smirking.
“I’m normal sized,” I whisper back. “You’re just a man mountain.”
“Yeah,” he murmurs, still smiling as he kisses me again.
One of his hands roams down my back until he’s gripping my behind, and he gives it a rough knead with his palm before swatting it with a firm spank.
“You sure that you’re okay staying here for a few days, before we head back to Larch Peak?” he asks quietly.
He turns us around so that he can sit at the edge of the bed. Then he splays his large quads, the denim of his jeans pulling tight, and he pulls me between his legs so that he can look up at me from under those long dark lashes.
I nod down at him, stroking my fingers through his hair, then down his stubble. He closes his eyes momentarily, practically growling at my touch, and his fingers grip harder into my behind as he shifts his quads wider.
“I don’t have to stay,” I offer quietly, “if you’d prefer to have some real family time with your dad and your brother while they’re home.”
Tanner’s beautiful eyes flash up to mine, bright and burning as he massages his palms over my hips.
“Why would I not want you here?” he asks, his voice painfully deep. “Having you here is what made today perfect. Getting to spend my time with all of the people who I love the most.” He pulls me closer by my hips. “Most of all, you.”
My eyes blink wide, my breathing stuttering in my throat.
Because when I think back to what he just said, I realise that Tanner said the L-word.
“What?” he asks gruffly. “What’s that scared little expression for?”
I press a palm against my burning cheeks and his mouth tilts up into a lazy grin.
“You serious?” he asks incredulously. “You seriously didn’t know how I feel about you?”
“Tanner,” I breathe, “you don’t have to say what you just said–”
He stands to his feet, making me stumble back a step until he catches me. He crushes my chest against his, breathing heavily as I swallow and look up at him.
“I’m gonna say it, Aisling. So I’m going to give you a second to prepare yourself first.”
I shake my head. “It’s too soon, right? Surely it’s too soon.”
“Baby, I’ve been feeling these feelings for you for four goddamn years. It’s not too soon. It’s coming four years too late.”
My heart squeezes in my chest and, sensing my emotions, Tanner holds me tighter.
“It’s been a long time coming,” he rumbles, stroking his palm around the nape of my neck. “We could’ve made four babies in the time that I’ve been head over heels for you, Aisling. Eight, given your genetics.”
A happy laugh bubbles out of me, quickly followed by alarm – eight babies? – but Tanner’s handsome grin brings me back to the present. To where I’m standing in his cosy childhood bedroom, a soft bed behind him, low beams that he has to duck under overhead. A cheer flyer from Carter U currently hiding at the side of his desk, even though I have no doubt that he’ll retrieve it later tonight when I’m not looking.
To his warm hands holding me firmly, his heart pumping steadily over mine.
“You ready for me to say it?” he asks roughly.
“No,” I whimper.
He breathes out a laugh, those perfect creases pulling taut in his cheeks.
“Can’t hold it in any longer, baby.”
I bury my face in his neck but he gently tugs my hair, pulling me back so that I can look up at him as he says it.
“I love you, Aisling. I love you so goddamn much.”
I jump up onto my tip-toes, making him laugh quietly as I yank him down by his stupid sexy long-sleeved shirt.
I press a kiss against his mouth and Tanner keeps it chaste and gentle, or at least he tries to until his body won’t let him anymore. He pulls back with a groan, gaze dropping to the thick tent in his jeans.
“Fuck,” he pants, quickly gripping it and urging it to go down. “Sorry,” he rasps at me, hunching down once more so that he can kiss me again.
“I know we’re not gonna, uh… be doing anything physical while we’re here,” he murmurs, eyes still on his enormous erection as he rakes a hand through his hair, “but I’m gonna apologise in advance for how hard I’m gonna get when we’re trying to sleep tonight. And when we wake up tomorrow. And probably just every couple of minutes throughout the day when we’re alone together.”
“Will it make it even harder if I say that I love you too?” I breathe.
Tanner’s mouth crashes down to mine and suddenly I’m squealing as we tumble to his bed.
“Say that again,” he rasps, pulling back to look down at me. His eyes are hazy and heated and filled with so much love.
“I love you,” I tell him, feeling my cheeks flush under the directness of his gaze.
“Again,” he demands, licking his lips as he watches me giggle.
“I love you,” I whisper, hands stroking over the swollen muscles of his chest.
“I love you too,” he rumbles, his eyes unblinking as they burn into mine. Heat pools in my stomach as his gaze slow-rakes me up and down. “I love you so much that I wish that I was inside of you right now,” he murmurs, one fist bunching the side of my dress so that he can scrunch it up to the top of my hip. He settles his lap between my legs, thrusting roughly over my panties.
“You’ll have to wait,” I whisper, eyes rolling back as he squeezes my ass.
He thrusts harder, his back muscles rolling, until his bed slams against the wall and I’m instantly yelping, laughing as I shove him off of me.
He laughs, covering his face with his palms, before pulling me against his chest and pressing kisses all over my forehead.
“Maybe they’re still outside and didn’t hear that,” he murmurs, making me giggle as he squeezes my butt.
“We aren’t, and we did!” Wyatt yells through the wall, making my eyes grow wide before I groan into my hands.
Tanner rolls on top of me and shouts a quick, “Mind your goddamn business!”
And then we’re laughing, Tanner holding me tight in his arms.
I fall asleep to the sound of his steadily beating heart.