Chapter Eight
Bree wanted to run; she really did. She wanted to run when Tanner made it back to the living room four and a half minutes later looking mouthwatering himself in jeans and a button-down shirt.
She definitely wanted to run when they pulled up to his mother’s house thirty minutes after that.
Bree had met all of Tanner’s family before.
Noah at the ranch, of course. Mrs. Dempsey and Tanner’s sister, Cassandra, came to town sometimes and to the Sunrise.
It was impossible not to have met them in a town the size of Risk Peak.
But this was the first time she was facing them as Tanner’s girlfriend.
Grasping the box filled with Mrs. Andrews’s lemon pie from the Sunrise Diner, she walked stiffly with him toward the door.
He slid an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close, kissing her temple. “You’re going to do great. They’re going to love you.”
Bree was not nearly as sure about either of those things. This situation was pretty much her worst nightmare—a small group where she was expected to interact and banter wittily.
So basically to act like a normal person with normal personal interaction skills.
Yeah, this was not going to go well.
Dinner actually went by without her making any terrible faux pas.
Between Tanner and Cassandra’s constant bickering, with Noah and Cassandra’s husband, Graham, occasionally chiming in, there wasn’t much conversation that was expected from Bree.
Every once in a while, Mrs. Dempsey would try to bring her brood under control, but it was easy to see that the fighting was in good fun.
Graham and Cassandra’s three kids, all between the ages of eight and twelve, ate as fast as they could then begged to be excused to go back out to the fishing pond.
Cassandra agreed, sending them with the cookies she’d baked.
As soon as they were gone, she turned back to the adults at the table. “I’m no idiot. I made cookies for the kids so there’s more pie for us.”
“Damn it, I thought I was the smartest one in this family,” Tanner muttered.
When everyone got up and started carrying their dishes into the kitchen, Bree grabbed hers and followed suit.
“How are you enjoying living on the ranch?” Mrs. Dempsey asked. “It’s always been too isolated for my tastes. Is it the same for you? It must be much different than Kansas City.”
Bree’s life in Kansas City had been pretty isolated also. She’d been surrounded by people, but still alone.
“No, I actually like the isolation. Sometimes a lot of people can be a little too much for me.”
“Amen to that,” Noah muttered. “Give me horses over people any day.”
Tanner smiled and kissed her on the top of the head as he passed by with some dishes.
“Yeah, but what’s it like living with my idiot brother?” Cassandra elbowed Tanner as she walked into the kitchen.
Bree wasn’t sure what to say. They weren’t really living together. Would Mrs. Dempsey think Bree was some sort of freeloader? “I’m only living there because of the crime scene at my house and the puppy.”
Cassandra grinned as she and Tanner sat back down. “Not if Tanner has anything to say about it.”
Bree could feel heat rising in her cheeks. She had no idea what she was supposed to say to that. “Um...”
“Ow!” Cassandra glared at Tanner. “Mom, Tanner just pinched me under the table.”
Mrs. Dempsey turned to them. “You two behave. Bree, why don’t we leave the infants alone and go cut the pie.”
They could hear Cassandra and the boys yelling and laughing as they left.
“Are they really arguing?” Bree asked.
Mrs. Dempsey rolled her eyes. “Cassandra is the baby. She likes to stir up trouble when both her brothers are here. Do you have siblings?”
“No, it was just me.” She’d barely even had a mom growing up.
Mrs. Dempsey began cutting the pie. “My son doesn’t bring someone home for a family dinner lightly. He’s quite smitten with you.”
“I...I...” Some days Bree wasn’t sure he was. For the past days, even though she’d lived in the same house as him, he’d seemed to keep himself so distant. Not like he resented having her there, but like she was a guest who he liked but wanted to keep a respectful distance from.
But then today...that kiss against the wall. There had been nothing like that all the other days. Nothing like that, ever. Where he’d kissed her like he was about to lose control.
And she’d loved it. She could still feel the ghost of his fingers on her outer thigh.
But was Tanner smitten with her, like his mother suggested? “I don’t know. Sometimes, I just don’t know.”
Mrs. Dempsey looked up from the pie and studied Bree. “Tanner has his own demons—pretty significant ones—and his own way of handling them.”
“He does?” He was so laid-back and friendly. He seemed so likable and approachable. It had never really occurred to her that he might have demons like her.
“He doesn’t talk to you about stuff?”
Bree shook her head. “Some. But no, not stuff like that.”
Mrs. Dempsey’s tone hadn’t been judgmental in any way, but the words themselves made Bree recognize once again that maybe she wasn’t meeting Tanner’s needs. Maybe that was why they still hadn’t slept together.
Mrs. Dempsey reached over and squeezed Bree’s arm. “He’s protective of you. I can’t blame him—you’ve got something special that makes him want to take care of you. To fight all your battles for you. Tanner’s dad felt that way about me.”
Mrs. Dempsey didn’t look like someone who needed protecting. She looked like she could fight her own battles.
“Of course, I had to set Clifford straight pretty early on in our relationship. Because it was never going to be enough for me—or for him—to let him wrap me in cotton wool. It is enough for some women and some relationships, but it wasn’t what either Clifford or I needed. Is it what you need, Bree?”
Bree’s answer was immediate. “No. I’ve been taking care of myself for a long time. Probably longer than I should’ve. I’m strong.”
Mrs. Dempsey smiled at her. “I believe that. You’ve definitely got a core of steel. You’re probably going to need to convince Tanner that you’re strong enough to be what he needs, though.”
What did Tanner need? Bree wasn’t sure. She might’ve asked Mrs. Dempsey if shouting hadn’t started from the dining room.
“We want pie! We want pie!”
Mrs. Dempsey sighed and grinned. “Looks like the natives are getting restless. Shall we?”
All of the Dempsey siblings began eyeing the pie in Mrs. Dempsey’s hand as soon as she walked in the room.
“Hey, Mom,” Tanner said, innocence all but dripping from his voice. “Is there any pie left in the box, you know, for after we’re done? Asking for a friend.”
Mrs. Dempsey’s eyes narrowed. “If I say yes, are you going to forget every manner I ever taught you?”
“No, ma’am,” all three Dempsey siblings and Graham responded at the same time.
She just rolled her eyes. “Then yes, there’s one piece left.”
Bree’s jaw dropped as Tanner, Noah and Graham accepted their pie and began scarfing it down.
She glanced over at Cassandra, but she was eating hers at a more humanlike rate.
She shrugged. “I gave up my horse in this race when I got married. I might’ve been able to outeat one of my brothers, but there was no way to beat them and Graham.
Although sometimes if I promise hubby here sexual favors he’ll give me some of the pie if he wins.
” She wagged her eyebrows. Graham gave her a thumbs-up with one hand and kept piling in pie with the other.
Bree just smiled, watching the eating with wonder. “Tanner tried to explain the whole pie thing to me once. But really you have to see it in person to truly understand.”
As soon as the men finished their pie—within seconds of each other—they made comically polite excuses before rushing toward the kitchen. This entire process was obviously a time-honored tradition.
Cassandra and Mrs. Dempsey just shook their heads, both eating their pie at a much more leisurely pace.
“So,” Cassandra said. “How are you liking waiting tables at the Sunrise Diner?”
“Cass,” Mrs. Dempsey said quietly.
Cassandra shrugged. “No harm in me talking to her about it.”
Bree didn’t mind talking about her job. Did Mrs. Dempsey think she was sensitive about it?
“I like it. Dan and Cheryl have always been very supportive.”
“Do you miss working with computers?” Cassandra asked.
Bree stared down at her pie. Tanner probably hadn’t told his family very much about her past. This conversation had turned stressful amazingly quickly. What was the most appropriate way to answer Cassandra’s question?
She brought a piece of pie to her mouth, more to buy herself time than anything else. How did she feel about computers? Pinpointing it wasn’t easy.
“It’s complicated,” she finally said.
“How so?” Cassandra asked.
“Cass...” Mrs. Dempsey said again.
“I’m not doing any harm, Mom. Just trying to understand.”
Bree was somehow causing tension between Cassandra and her mother. She didn’t want that. “I’m good with computers, but because of some of the stuff that happened when I was a kid, they sometimes hold triggers for me.”
Cassandra nodded, her eyes narrowing. “Do you think you’ll ever work with them again?”
Bree shifted in her chair. She wasn’t sure why Cassandra was asking her that. Were they worried she might do something illegal and drag Tanner down with her? They had to know that she had ties to the Organization. Did they think she was involved with the evil stuff they’d done?
Before Bree could think of what to say, Cassandra continued. “I’m a hairdresser by trade. I have my cosmetology license.”
Bree blinked at the change in subject. “Oh. I’ve never seen you working in town.”
“I don’t, at least not very often anymore. I stay home with the kids now. But I’m starting a part-time project. A mission, sort of.”
The guys came back in from the kitchen, all three of them grinning but looking a little disheveled. “We shared.”
“Is my kitchen still in one piece?” Mrs. Dempsey raised one brow.
“Yes, ma’am,” all three said dutifully.