Page 59 of Always a Roommate
“They don’t have that kind of money.”
There had to be a way. I refused to give up on Tanner, on his dream. Even if he decided to.
“Rae,” Trevor called across the beach. “We doing some work?”
I looked back at him and waved. “Give me just one more minute.” To Tanner, I said, “You see that kid back there? Other than a father who doesn’t care that his son sleeps on the streets, all he has is that dog. And he’s here. He goes to school every day and wants something more for himself. He refuses to give up.” I stood and brushed wet sand from my butt. It was no use.
“What about you, Tanner?” I reached a hand down to him. “Are you going to give up?”
It took him a moment, but finally, he gripped my hand and let me pull him to his feet.
Money was going to be a problem. We couldn’t deny that. But it was a hurdle, not a wall.
There was a difference.
24
SHANE
“We really have to go,” Rae said, as if this time, she thought I’d believe she wanted to stop when she brought her lips back to mine.
I didn’t know what this was—if it was anything—but at the moment, I didn’t really care. Not as I traced her curves with my hands, not as she tugged at me, drawing me closer.
It was enough to make a guy forget this was a girl he’d known for twenty years, more than that even. Enough to make a guy forget it was a bad idea.
Flashes of auburn hair on a short little girl with wide eyes entered my mind, and I pulled back, trying to rid myself of the memories. She’d been quite an annoying child, talking too much, always seeking out attention.
Even when she grew and entered high school, she’d wanted all eyes to be on her. But I hadn’t seen that side of her in a long time. If anything, it was like she’d suppressed it around me. Or maybe she suppressed it in general.
Her brows pulled together in concern. “Everything okay there, Sparky?”
“Yeah.” I leaned in, pressing a kiss to her forehead and inhaling the scent of her coconut shampoo. “But we really should go.”
“I know.” Her gaze still looked concerned, but she didn’t voice whatever was on her mind. Instead, she stepped around me to grab her purse and slipped on her shoes.
Tonight, she was dressed casually. Well, as casual as she got. Though, I still remembered her wearing that tight wetsuit. There was no neoprene in sight this time, only a pair of high-waisted jeans and a blue sweater I was sure cost more than anything I owned.
We had to drive separately because our families still assumed we were at each other’s throats constantly. I guessed we were, just not the way they imagined.
I smiled to myself at the internal joke, realizing how unlike me it was. Tanner and Johnny were the jokesters in the family. It was a good thing neither of them were here, or I might ruin their fear of me.
By the time I reached my parents’ house, I was the last one there. Inside, there was just as much noise as every Sunday with my dad and Rae’s dad cheering at something on the TV, probably hockey, and everyone else chattering away like we were a long-lost family, who didn’t see each other every week.
My eyes immediately looked for Rae, and I didn’t want to even think about the implications of that. But I didn’t see her. After kicking off my shoes by the door, I walked farther into the house.
Voices came from the mudroom, one of them with a recognizable lilt.
“You have to tell them,” Rae was saying.
The other, I now knew, was Tanner, and he grunted in what I assumed was disagreement. I stopped, waiting to hear more.
“Tanner, they’re your family. We can’t keep this from them.”
A hand gripped my arm, and I jumped before turning to realize it was my mom. She smiled softly and put a finger to her lips. Gesturing to the kitchen, she started that way.
I had nothing to do but follow, Rae’s words ringing in my mind. I wasn’t stupid enough to think she and Tanner had started any kind of relationship, regardless of what it sounded like. That wasn’t the Rae I was beginning to know. And it wasn’t Tanner. If I was correct, he had feelings for someone else.
Then, what could they be hiding from the family?
