Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
Faith sat in the passenger seat of Tanner’s Jeep. She realized she’d never seen him drive before. He usually walked places. But thank goodness he’d driven because he wouldn’t have fit too comfortably on her bicycle handlebars. Nor did she have the energy to go by foot.
Faith was still unsettled after what had happened, but Tanner’s presence relaxed her. The inside of the Jeep smelled like him, a mixture of laundry detergent and something she could only describe as masculine. She inhaled deeply, wanting more of it.
Tanner was constantly thinking of other people. She already owed him for all the kindness he’d shown her. She didn’t see how she’d ever pay him back.
He’d do anything for a friend, Sylvie had once remarked.
She’d been a little shocked to see Tanner’s haircut earlier, but it was a lot better than “not bad.” She’d wanted to see more of his face, and that instinct had proved correct.
The man was gorgeous.
His jaw was strong and angular. The cords of his neck followed graceful curves, equal parts beauty and strength.
Somehow, his eyes had become even more striking, lighting up all her nerve endings as he gazed back at her.
Combined with the tattoos snaking up his arms, the way his T-shirt hugged every contour of his chest…
Her senses were already heightened from all the adrenaline in her body. But now, more pleasurable chemicals were speeding through her bloodstream.
“Here we are.” He put the truck in park. The night sky was clear, the moon half full. Streetlights gave the surroundings a yellow glow.
Faith grabbed her bag and followed behind him. Before they’d left her house, she’d changed out of her scrubs and into leggings and a T-shirt.
Tanner lived in a clapboard bungalow with white railings along the porch. Shaker-style shingles covered the roof, framing a dormer window.
“Your house is adorable.”
“Are you sure? I thought it was ruggedly manly.”
A giggle snuck out of her. “You should complain to your real estate agent.”
“Too late now. I’ll have to stick with adorable.” He unlocked the door and showed her inside. Faith set her bag on the floor.
The interior was sparser than she’d imagined it would be from the outside. Picture frames leaned against a wall in the living room, waiting to be hung. In the kitchen, some of the cabinets were missing their doors, and the walls had patches of different paint colors.
“I have a lot of unfinished projects,” he said. “I had to save for a long time to afford this place, but it’s still needed work.”
“It has great bones. I’m jealous. In my old house in Texas, I always had something unfinished, and it wasn’t nearly this nice.” She admired the exposed rafters in the ceiling, walking through the open first floor.
Tanner sat on the arm of the sofa. “What was your house like?”
She pictured it. Narrow, one-story, shotgun style.
Her in-laws had helped her and Jon with the down payment.
Her mom hadn’t liked it. You’ll be able to trade up to something bigger once you have kids.
To her mother’s chagrin, that hadn’t happened.
Faith had an I.U.D., and her mom would’ve been livid had she known.
Her mind stuck on the memories of Jon, like a scratched record. But Tanner was still waiting for a reply.
“I don’t think that place had a single straight line in it. Everything was wonky. But it was mine. Well, partly mine.”
Back in Texas, she’d spent years making a home she didn’t feel safe in. She’d tried to find the freedom to start over. Yet here she was, running from her disastrous marriage once again.
The urge to cry burned in her nose.
“Have you had any dinner?” Tanner asked.
“I…” She couldn’t remember. But her stomach was rumbling. “I don’t think so. Have you?”
“Nope. Let’s see what I’ve got, though I can’t promise it’ll be gourmet.” He opened the fridge, and Faith came into the kitchen behind him. Tanner pulled out a loaf of bread and a block of cheddar cheese. “Do you like grilled cheese and tomato soup?”
She almost cried, but this time with relief. Comfort food was exactly what she needed. “That would be perfect. You’re my favorite person ever.”
He grinned, and wow—she could see his mouth more clearly now with his shorter beard. His lips were full and soft-looking. “Have a seat, and I’ll have this ready in a bit.”
“Can’t I help?”
“If you want. Sure.”
Faith grated the cheese, while Tanner started on the soup. “I hope you don’t mind canned.”
“Are you kidding? My mom made Campbell’s tomato all the time when I was growing up. There were five of us, and she usually spent so much time cooking. She was a fan of easy lunches. Made-from-scratch tomato soup is fantastic, but canned tastes like home.”
“Same here. But my mom likes to add some extra ingredients.”
“Really? Like what?”
He winked. “Can’t give away the Reed family secrets.”
She finished grating enough cheese for two sandwiches. They almost ran into one another as they jockeyed for position around the stovetop.
“Sorry,” she said.
“No, go ahead.”
He stood next to her, stirring the pot as the soup heated. Her pulse thrummed in her neck at having him so close.
Friends, she reminded herself. We’re just friends, and that’s fine. Anybody would do well to have a friend like Tanner.
“Has Noah gotten in touch with you?” he asked.
“Noah? No. Why?”
Tanner shrugged. “Just something he said. He…wanted to ask you out.”
“Oh.” She felt flustered. She didn’t know what to say. Did Tanner approve of this idea? “Really?”
“Can’t be that surprising. You must have guys hitting on you all the time.”
“Not so much.” She cringed. “Just high schoolers.” They both laughed.
“Noah’s an upstanding guy. You wouldn’t have anything to worry about with him.”
It seemed like Tanner really wanted her to date his friend. But the idea of more time with Noah didn’t excite her.
“Since Myra and I went to Bennett Security, she keeps talking about you. She might have a little crush.” Faith melted butter in a skillet, added a slice of bread, then layered cheese and a second slice on top of it.
“Oh, yeah?” Tanner watched, gripping the back of his neck. “Are you trying to set me up?”
“What? I—no.” Setting up Tanner and Myra would’ve been the last thing on her mind.
Tanner rested his hip against the counter, facing her. “Myra seems great. I’m just…not sure she’s my type. I hope that doesn’t make me sound like an asshole.”
Faith tried to hide how much she liked hearing that. “You’re just being honest. What is your type?” When she glanced over, he was looking at her.
“Someone who’s funny. Sweet. Willing to put up with my nonsense.” He’d taken a step toward her, his voice lowering. “Beautiful doesn’t hurt.”
“And you don’t think that’s Myra?”
Hesitation passed across his features. “You’re right, she could be. I should give her a chance.”
Now Faith was cursing herself for saying anything.
They finished cooking and sat down to eat, but their conversation didn’t flow as easily as it had before. She couldn’t tell if Tanner felt it, or if it was just her.
Despite the shift in the mood between them, Faith felt her nerves calming even further. The food warmed her from the inside out. “The soup is really good. It’s so creamy. And I don’t know what that flavor is, but it’s good.”
He shrugged. “I added half-and-half instead of milk, and dried thyme.”
“I thought you weren’t giving away the family secrets.”
Tanner stirred his soup around in the bowl. “I decided to make an exception for you.”
Her phone rang. Faith got up and found the device in her bag. Ice flooded her veins.
“Who is it?” Tanner asked.
“It’s him.” She answered, turning to face away from Tanner. “Hello?”
“Faith.” Jon sounded breathless. “Someone might come by later.”
“He already did. It was Kyle. You found out my address, didn’t you? You gave it to him.”
“No. I don’t know how he figured it out. I tried to explain to him that—”
“He pushed his way into the house.” She lowered her voice to a whisper. “He hit me, Jon.”
“Oh, shit. Shit. I’m so sorry.”
“I called the police.”
He moaned. “This is so bad. It wasn’t supposed to…”
“What the hell is Kyle doing in West Oaks?”
She felt Tanner watching her. Faith couldn’t stop her body from trembling.
“It’s a long story.”
“What have you gotten yourself into?”
“You always think it’s my fault. I tried to tell them you couldn’t be involved anymore, and I was going to make another plan. I tried.”
“Tell me the truth. Is there any ‘antiques’ business, or are you dealing again? Is that what this is really about?”
“Why can’t you just trust me?”
She put her hand over her eyes. “Go back home to Texas. Leave me alone.”
The call cut off.
Faith sat on the couch in the living room. Tanner came over and sat on the next cushion, leaving a couple feet between them. “Do you want to talk about it?” he asked softly.
“You heard me giving my statement to the police. And you heard…” She lifted her phone.
“I don’t mean for me. You’ve been through something traumatic and discussing it can help.”
She felt tied up in knots inside. “You were in the military, right? And you’re a bodyguard. I know how much you did for Sylvie and Nic in the past. How do you stand it? Being in danger. Facing people who want to hurt you.”
The bruise on her cheek ached. Kyle had hit her, and he’d threatened to do far worse. The uncertainty and confusion were tearing at her heart.
She put her hand over the mark on her face, feeling the shame as her skin heated.
“It’s not easy,” Tanner said. “The fear can be worse after the action is over. I try to focus on helping other people.”
That didn’t surprise her at all. Faith liked to think she was a kind person, too. But she was nowhere near as giving as Tanner. She’d spent so much of her life absorbed in her own problems.
“You knew this guy Kyle in Texas?”
Faith wrung her hands in her lap. “I’d suspected Jon was dealing.
He never told me anything, but I could see the clues.
Then, he disappeared. After he came back, I could tell something worse than usual had happened.
Jon was really freaked out. Then, that guy Kyle came to our house one night.
They were talking about how they were partners in something, but neither trusted the other.
I was in the bedroom, and Kyle heard me, and… ” She couldn’t keep going.
“Faith, what did he do?”
Her thumb swiped a tear from her cheek. “Scared me, mostly. Pushed me. Said he’d make me pay if Jon didn’t do what he wanted.”
She felt the fury radiating from him, though Tanner hadn’t moved a single muscle.
“Did you get any sense of what Kyle intends to do next?” he asked.
“No. This feels different than what happened in Texas, though. Because it’s here.
In West Oaks. I don’t understand why Kyle is here, but it has to be something big.
Right? Otherwise, why come all this way?
” Except for the fact that she was in West Oaks.
But Faith couldn’t see why Kyle would chase her here, when he’d left her alone for the last eight months.
“Could it be related to whatever he and Jon were up to in Texas?”
“Maybe. Just now, on the phone, Jon said he didn’t want to involve me, but other people were making him.
” She slowly shook her head. “I don’t want him to suffer.
I wish he could be happy. But… I think I deserve happiness, too.
” Her voice broke as she said this. Tanner reached over to place his hand over hers.
“You deserve that and a whole lot more.”
“Thanks. So do you.” Then she felt silly. Tanner wasn’t sitting here asking for her advice or her approval.
He shifted his hand and laced their fingers together. Faith looked up at him, and she saw something different in his eyes. Something deeper and more tender. An ache started in her chest.
After the night she’d had, she wanted to sink back into his arms and take comfort in him. Not just as a friend. But that would’ve been crossing a line. Tanner was already giving so much to her, and she was being selfish to want even more.
Reluctantly, she pulled her hand away from his. “I’m really tired.”
He got up, collected their dishes from the table, and brought them to the sink. “I was thinking you should take my room upstairs, since I don’t have a guest room.”
“I’ll just sleep on the couch. I’m used to it, believe me.”
“But you’ll be more comfortable upstairs, knowing I’m here by the doors. Right?”
This man. Why did he have to be so perfect all the time?
There was no way in hell she could sleep in his bed, smelling him. Thinking of him. She’d be up all night imagining him next to her.
“I’ll be more comfortable on the couch.”
“Fair enough. I’ll get you a pillow and some blankets.”
He helped her set up a makeshift bed. Faith used the bathroom, where she followed her nighttime routine as best she could. She was already wearing comfy clothes, but she slipped off her bra.
When she came back out, Tanner was sitting on the end of the couch opposite her pillow. He stood.
“Thank you for everything,” she said.
Tanner gently brushed his fingertip across her cheek, just below the bruise. “I’m really sorry about what happened. But I’m not sorry you’re here.”
“Neither am I.”
“Goodnight, Faith.”
Her gaze followed him as he climbed the stairs.
Faith opened her eyes. She’d heard a crash.
She sat up on Tanner’s couch, gasping for breath. Instantly, her body filled with panicked energy. She couldn’t remember going to sleep.
Her eyes scanned the living room and kitchen. Both outer doors seemed secure.
There was a light on upstairs, shining down from the second floor. And now that her mind was fully awake, she realized the noise had come from up there, too.
Tanner’s bedroom.
She didn’t know if there was any reason to be worried, but fear clawed at her all the same. Was Tanner still awake?
Was he okay?
Pushing away the blankets, Faith got up. She padded over to the base of the stairs. Her foot pressed onto the first step. The wood made a popping sound. She paused.
“Tanner?” she whispered.
Somewhere upstairs, he moaned.