Page 6 of Tanner
Jamie-Lynn and I exchange a look, wondering if Hazel's about to drop a bomb on us like she and Ethan are going to elope and they need witnesses. It's not out of the realm of possibilities seeing as he bought an engagement ring for her less than seventy-two hours after they spoke for the first time in fifteen years.
“Are you about to ask to buy matching dresses?” Jamie-Lynn asks.
Hazel looks at her curiously and shakes her head. “No. Ethan is planning a surprise homecoming party for Tanner when he gets released from the hospital.”
“How’s he doing?” I ask, unable to hide the eagerness in my voice.
"He's doing really well, considering." Hazel takes a sip of wine. “The doctors told Ethan that he’s going to make a full recovery.”
A sense of relief washes over me, and suddenly, the tension I've held in my neck and shoulders seems to release. I've debated going back to the hospital to see him since that day. I don't know if it was just me, but I felt something between us when he took my hand. The way he held on like he didn’t want to let me go, like I was an anchor for him, keeping him from drifting away. I didn’t say to him but wanted to because I felt the same way.
“I’ll be there,” I blurt out. “I’ll be at the party.”
Hazel and Jamie-Lynn exchange a knowing and laugh.
“Alright then,” Hazel reaches across the coffee table and grabs her manicure kit. “Time to fix up your nails if you two are going to be holding hands again.” I glance up at her. “Ethan told me about the little moment you two had.”
Okay, maybe it wasn't all one-sided like I thought.
Chapter 4
TANNER
Despite my attempt to keep the news of my accident from traveling across the country to my family in San Francisco, I get a call from my sister, Tegan.
What she lacks in height, she more than makes up for it with a ballbusting personality. Something that comes in handy for her in the board room. That and the four-inch heels she wears.
But whenever some MBA Ivy League jerk-off meets her for the first time and thinks he’s got her figured out just by looking at her, it’s a sight to see when she takes them out at the knees and steps over them in her Louboutins. It only made sense that our father handed her the reins of the empire his father built.
I was never one for the money or power. My lack of ambition in the business world was always seen as a weakness. Instead of being front and center, I liked being the quiet investor that took a chance on small up and coming businesses that I saw had potential when no one else did.
Without fanfare, I managed to quadruple my trust fund in five years on my own, paying back with interest the money I used first to start investing. He'd never admit it, but I know my father can at least see the value in my eye for spotting the next big thing. Why else would he be pushing Tegan to get me to come home? It’s not like he’s ever taken an avid interest in me before. Money speaks to him. Power speaks to him.
My cell phone is sitting on the hospital bed when it goes off while I’m getting dressed. I’m finally getting discharged today after a lot of tests. I’m so ready to get out of here. I just want to go home and sleep in my own bed. Then I want to find Rachel and do what I can to convince her that I’m the guy she’s always been looking for and make her fall in love with me.I’m not asking for much, right?
I push the decline button, sending Tegan's call to voicemail, but a few seconds later, it starts ringing again.
I groan and pull on my shirt before answering, “Hello?”
“Did you just send me to voicemail?” Tegan asks, her breathing sounds a bit ragged. She’s probably on the treadmill or her exercise bike.
“New phone, who—”
“Don’t even try that with me, little brother.”
“Fine.” I sigh. “What’s up?”
“What’s up? I’ll tell you what’s up. My brother, who, despite protest from his family, moved across the country, volunteered to be a firefighter in some small town, and doesn't call to tell us he's okay when he wakes up from hiscoma!” She yells the last word so loud I have to pull the phone away from my ear.
“How did you find out?”
“Your friend answered your phone when you were getting some testing done. He told me everything.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t call sooner. I didn’t want you to worry.”
“Well, you failed miserably on that front." She sighs. I prepare myself for the inevitable lecture that she's given to me a hundred times since I moved to Knight's Ridge. "You need to come home. This momentary lapse of sanity has got to come to an end.”
“I’m not crazy. Just because what I want to do with my life doesn’t match with yours or dad’s, doesn’t mean I’m crazy.”
