Chapter Twenty-Six #2
“Don’t rush her,” Mrs. Dempsey said. She’d been a constant in Tanner’s room every day. “Your brother is going to need someone to take care of him for a while. Let them get themselves situated and then you can drag her into all your grand schemes.”
“I know, Mom, and I don’t expect her to do it until she’s ready and healed.” Cassandra winked at her. “So what is that, like two or three days?”
Bree just smiled.
“Bree, speaking of Tanner getting out of here... I don’t want you to feel like you have to take him on all by yourself if you don’t want to. I can assure you that my son is not a good patient. He doesn’t like to stay in bed.”
“I’ll bet Bree will be a little better at keeping him in bed,” Cassandra muttered under her breath with a grin.
Bree could feel heat rising through her whole face.
Mrs. Dempsey didn’t look offended, thank goodness. “My obnoxious daughter may be right, but I still don’t want you to feel like you have to be responsible for him. We can certainly all take turns.”
Bree stared at Mrs. Dempsey, her heart feeling a little too big for her chest. Had she just been given first dibs on Tanner’s care by his mother?
“I want to do it,” she croaked out.
“Thank God,” Cassandra muttered again. “He would’ve thrown a fit.”
Bree wasn’t exactly sure that was the truth. “Let Tanner decide,” she whispered.
Mrs. Dempsey and Cassandra looked at each other before looking back at Bree. “Believe me, if it was up to my son, he would’ve moved you in to the ranch the day he returned to Risk Peak. He wants you there. He wanted you there back when he thought you might be a package deal with two sweet babies.”
“Oh.” Bree’s lips formed the word, but no sound came out.
“So before you say yes, that you’ll move in and take care of him, I want to make sure you understand exactly what you’re getting yourself into. Once you move your stuff and yourself onto that ranch, it will be for good. Tanner’s never going to let you go.”
“Oh.” Again, no sound. Bree wanted to believe Mrs. Dempsey’s words more than anything she’d ever known.
Mrs. Dempsey got up from her chair near the window and came to stand next to Bree, who was sitting near the sleeping Tanner, holding his hand. “You have some doubts left about how he feels, and that’s okay. He’ll clear them up for you.”
“I just want to make sure it’s what he really wants. I don’t want him to feel pressured into anything.”
She squeezed Bree’s shoulder. “Is it what you want?”
Hiding her feelings wasn’t even an option. She wasn’t sure if sharing them with Tanner’s mother was appropriate or not, but she couldn’t hold back the words. “Yes. It’s what I want. He is what I want. In every possible way.”
Her words didn’t need to be loud to be forceful.
Cassandra’s low whistle and muttered “damn” had Bree assuming her comment had been too much.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. Her voice would’ve been a whisper even if her throat was at full strength. “That wasn’t appropriate.”
“No. Don’t ever apologize for loving my son with so much fervor. It’s the most any mother could ever want for her child. And knowing he feels the same way about you just makes it that much more perfect.” She reached down and squeezed Bree’s hand where it rested over Tanner’s.
“It’s still his choice,” Bree said. She wanted to make sure he knew he had options.
Mrs. Dempsey nodded. “And we’ll make sure he understands that. Tanner always knows his own mind. He knows what he wants. You’ll see.”
SHE WAS RIGHT there next to him when Tanner opened his eyes the next day.
The doctors assured them it would happen, that he was showing more and more signs of alertness, but until she actually saw those brown eyes looking at her, Bree had not been able to escape the weight that had seemed riveted to her chest.
“Hey, freckles.”
And with those two words the weight was gone.
“Hey, hot lips.” She reached over and kissed him on them.
He barely made it through talking to his family before falling back asleep, but he was awake again just a couple of hours later. By the next day, he was complaining about the food, and they all knew he was back for good.
Whitaker came by to take Tanner’s statement.
He was working with the Larimer County Sheriff’s Department since so many of the crimes were tied in together.
Whitaker asked Bree if she’d be willing to wait outside the hospital room so her testimony wouldn’t become tainted by Tanner’s version and vice versa.
She’d already given her written statement but might have to give one verbally in the future.
Tanner hadn’t wanted her to go, but Bree hadn’t wanted to relive those details right then anyway. She’d just gotten Tanner back and awake. She didn’t want to think of his still form lying so bloody in her arms again.
She told him she would head to her apartment to take a shower and be back.
While she was there, she looked around. Moving in with Tanner would be such a huge step emotionally, but such a small step physically. It wouldn’t take her long to gather up her belongings—after years on the run, she was never going to be a pack rat.
She hadn’t been lying to Mrs. Dempsey. There was nothing she wanted more than to be with Tanner. But she only wanted to move in with him if that was what he really wanted, too.
When she got back to the hospital, Whitaker had left, and Cassandra and Mrs. Dempsey were back.
And Tanner was angry.
“What happened?” she croaked, rushing to Tanner’s side.
His arms snaked around her hip and pulled her down onto the bed next to him.
Cassandra rolled her eyes. “The big baby is mad because the doctor said he couldn’t leave tomorrow. He has to be here at least another day.”
“And I told Tanner that I’ve already got his old room at the house ready for him. I’ve got my schedule cleared, and I’m ready to wait on him hand and foot as long as he needs me to.” Mrs. Dempsey looked pointedly at Bree. “I wanted him to know he has options and can stay wherever he wants.”
Bree swallowed the ball of worry in her chest. This was what she’d asked Mrs. Dempsey to do. To make sure he knew he could do what he wanted.
She looked at Tanner. “That all sounds good to me.”
His face was scrunched into the most adorable pout she’d ever seen.
“First, I don’t want to stay in the hospital anymore.
The food has not gotten any better since I was here the last time.
You would think with all the technological advances our society has made, they could make hospital food more palatable. ”
She fought not to smile, which was even harder when Cassandra let out a dramatic sigh.
“Just one more day,” she whispered to him. “I’ll sneak you in food.”
“Fine,” he said. “But here’s the rest. I know it’s not fair arguing this with you when your voice doesn’t work, but it’s the only chance I have against that big brain of yours anyway.”
“What are we going to argue about?”
His hand tightened on her hip. “I want you to move in with me.”
“Okay,” she said instantly. “To help you.”
He shook his head. “No, hear me out. I want you to move in with me, not as some sort of nursemaid, although I’m sure I’ll need a little help for a couple weeks.
I want you to move in with me and stay there.
Long after the doctor clears me, I still want you there, waking up with me every morning and going to bed with me every night.
This isn’t about you being my caregiver or me being your bodyguard.
I want you with me, freckles. I love you, and I’ve wanted you with me from the moment I first saw you shoplifting in that drugstore.
If you’re not ready, I’ll wait. But if you are, there’s nothing I want more than having you with me every single day. ”
She stared at him, heart swelling, not sure she could say anything even if her voice wasn’t damaged.
Mrs. Dempsey cleared her throat. When Bree looked over at the older woman, she was grinning. “Looks like he’s made his choice.”
She nodded and then looked back at Tanner.
“I have made my choice, freckles. And it’s you.”
“I love you, too,” Bree whispered. “And yes, I’ll come with you to the ranch.”
Tanner’s hand slid up her back, pushing her down toward him. His lips pressed against hers gently, mindful of the wounds both of them were recovering from.
Just like the kiss he’d given her at her apartment in Kansas City all those weeks ago, this one was once again full of promise.
Neither of them broke away, even when Cassandra snickered. “I got all of that on camera, and I’m so posting it on YouTube.”