Page 45 of All Night with the Cowboy
***
Tanner looked up and smiled to himself as he saw how close they were to the top of the mountain. Today was humid as hell after the rain, and his skin was slick withsweat, but he loved the feeling of actually doing something more strenuous than swimming.
He glanced at Lauren walking beside him, wondering why she’d been so quiet all morning. He doubted she was worried about the storm—she wasn’t the type to rattle easily—but she was obviously mulling over something in her head and she wasn’t as talkative as usual.
“What do you say we jog the rest of the way?” he asked.
Lauren smiled and shook her head. “Easy, tiger. Remember what I said about not wanting to carry you back down?”
The idea of her trying to carry him was something he’d pay to see.
“I’m feeling great, but walking is killing me. Promise I’ll take it slow.”
She looked undecided.
“Come on, we’re almost there.”
Lauren sighed. “Okay, fine, but if you feel anything,anything at all, just stop. I haven’t spent all those hours on you for nothing.”
Tanner shook out through his shoulders and pushed off on the balls of his feet, springing forward into a light jog. His muscles bunched and pulled and he listened to his body, as cautious as Lauren not to push too hard and cause damage, but he felt good. Better than good, he was starting to feel great again. It was like he’d woken up this morning a huge step closer to having his old body back.
“You good?” Lauren asked, matching his pace.
“Keep your eyes on the track, sweetheart,” he said. “I’m doing great.”
Tanner focused on every footfall and jogged the rest of the way, his lungs full of air and his heart racing as he surveyed the island from above.
“Man, it’s beautiful up here,” he murmured.
“I know,” she said, breathless as she stood beside him, shoulders almost touching. “It’s why I’ve been coming up here every day.”
“You know, I have you to thank for helping me to feel this way again,” he said. “I couldn’t have imagined actually feeling like this even two weeks ago.”
She moved away from him and he tracked her, his attention on her instead of the view now. “You would have gotten to this point with or without me, Tanner. You’ve got a strong body, you’re determined, and to be honest, any therapist could have helped you.”
“But I didn’t have just any therapist,” he said, hearing the deep, gruff tone of his own voice. “I had you.”
She turned and he saw tears in her eyes, the same kind of held-back, stuck-in-the-lashes big tears that he’d noticed that first time they were in bed together.
“I knew this would be hard, but…”
“What? Being here with me?”
She smiled, finally meeting his gaze head on. “I knew being here with you would be hard, but this, this whatever this thing is going on between us, it’s hard knowing that we’ve gone back but…” She let out a big sigh. “I almost think we should just end this now. Today.”
Tanner stood a little straighter, knowing what she was trying to say because he’d thought the exact same thing. “It’s the island air, it’s making us feel like we’re kids again,” he said. “Once we’re back in the real world with other people around us, instead of being in this little bubble of paradise, we’ll be fine. Trust me. It’ll all beover and this will be the memory that stays with us when we think about what we used to have. And no, we’re not ending this today. When we board the jet again, sure. But not yet, Lauren.”
She nodded and he watched as she brushed her eyes with the back of her knuckles. He had no idea what she was thinking, her face impossible to read. “You’re sure? Because…”
He felt a stabbing pain in his chest and he shook his head. “I’m sure, baby.”
“Want to walk back down?” she asked, clearly trying to change the subject. “Or do you want to see how you feel doing a gentle run?”
Tanner grinned. “I thought you’d never ask.”
“Just do some stretches with me first. I want your calves nice and limbered up.”
“We’ve got awhile before we have to leave, so we can stretch for a while.”
