Page 5 of All Night with the Cowboy
Tanner glared at her. If she wasn’t pregnant, he’d have been tempted to climb through the railings and push her off her damn horse. He stretched his foot a little and grimaced, wishing his ankle wasn’t feeling so tight. His whole body was sore still, and he was trying to ease off on the painkillers—the last thing he needed was to down pills to make him feel better instead of actually solving the issues. He needed his body strong, which was the only reason he was going along with Mia’s plan.
“Look, she’s the best, Tan. I’m not just trying to be a pain in the butt, I’m trying to do something meaningful to help you, okay?” She put one hand on her heart, holding her reins in the other. “I promise you that I looked at all options, but she was the only PT with such glowing references. She’s amazing at what she does, and everyone sings her praises.”
He grunted, still scowling. “Want any help with the horse?”
“Um, I’m pregnant, not disabled. Go get yourself ready for Lauren.”
Tanner stared at her. Hard. “What? We don’t leave for another week.”
“Oops, sorry. Didn’t I mention she was coming to check you over today? She wanted to make sure she understood your injuries so she could make a full plan for your recovery before your departure, and I mentioned you were staying here during your recuperation.”
“And you’re sure we have to go to Fiji? I don’t see why you couldn’t have just paid her more to—”
“It was Fiji or nothing, Tan. She’d already booked the vacation, and I sweetened the deal by upgrading her accommodation on this beautiful island and booking the jet. It’s done, so all you need to do is go along with it.Besides, where better to recuperate than a beautiful tropical island? It’ll be magical.”
Tanner scooped his hand around the crutch and squeezed the plastic so hard he hurt his good hand. Damn his sister! He watched as she smiled sweetly then rode off in the other direction—from behind she didn’t even look pregnant, and if it were any other day he’d have laughed. Today he’d rather set her on fire. A week ago she’d broken the news to him, and now she’d set up an appointment without even telling him.
Lauren goddamn Lewis. He couldn’t believe it. He’d thought about what he’d say to her if he ever saw her again, had even wondered what she looked like now. But he’d always resisted the urge to look her up on Facebook, and miraculously they’d never crossed paths. Until now.
He looked up as a swathe of dust billowed in the distance, a sure sign a car was approaching. It was early December and it had been a dry winter so far, which was lucky given his current state. It would have been hard getting around on crutches if the ground was wet and muddy.
Was this Lauren? He squinted as he stood, staring as a black Mercedes pulled up the drive and parked outside the ranch house. Tanner started to hobble, hating how dependent he was on the damn crutches. After all these years, the last thing he wanted was for her to see him looking useless and hunched over, but he didn’t get his cast off until the day before they were due to fly.
And there she was.Lauren stood beside the car, her long dark hair pushed over her shoulders, glossy in the sunlight and looking no different than it had been a decade ago. The difference was that back then she’d have been wearing cut-off denim shorts and a tank top,whereas now she was in jeans, boots, and a sweater. He sucked in a breath when she turned, looking around, her chin held high, face so damn beautiful. He’d almost hoped she’d look different; that she’d have somehow aged terribly and not be anything like the beautiful girl he’d been head over heels in love with. But she hadn’t.
Tanner leaned on his crutch and raised his hand in an awkward wave, before making his way over to her. He went slow, wondering what the hell he was going to say to her, and not wanting to slip and fall over and make an ass of himself.
“Hey,” he called out when he was close enough for her to hear him.
“Hi, Tanner,” she said, her voice warm in a professional kind of way. He felt her eyes sweep over him, up then down. “Good to see you up and about.”
“As opposed to lying in bed feeling sorry for myself?”
“You’d be surprised. Anyway, where can we talk?”
He was tempted to be a smart-ass and tell her they were already talking, but instead he nodded toward the house. “We can head in there. I’ve been staying here since I was discharged from the hospital, so here’s as good a place as anywhere.” He was aching to go back to his own place, a small ranch he’d bought a couple of years earlier, but it made sense to be with his family until he was back up on his feet properly. He had a ranch hand employed full-time, so he only had to lend a hand when he felt like it, but he’d become used to his own space and his own house. It was nice having his own little piece of Texas paradise to retreat to.
Lauren stood back, gesturing for him to go first. He had to grind his teeth just to do it, his Texas mannersgetting the better of him at the whole not-letting-a-lady-go-first thing. But then again, she might have rolled her eyes at him and told him to get over himself if he’d insisted otherwise.
“So I’ve gone over your latest X-rays and all your doctors’ notes, plus I took the liberty of talking to your orthopedic surgeon and viewing your ultrasounds,” Lauren said, talking away as if they were just two professionals having a normal conversation about his injury, not two people with one hell of a history. “I’m confident that with the right plan and a solid three weeks or more of therapy, we’ll have the building blocks in place to get you back to being the well-oiled athlete you’ve always been. But we’re going to have to take it slow, and you’ll still need regular, ongoing therapy once you’re home.”
“Is that right?” he muttered, pausing at the solid oak door and leaning into it to open it.
“Here, let me,” she said, pushing past him.
“I don’t need your goddamn help with the door!” he snapped. “You might have to pussyfoot around your baseball players, but I don’t need a woman to take care of me. I’m a man, not a child.”
She froze, staring back at him, her dark brown eyes so wide they reminded him of a puppy’s. More accurately a puppy that had just been kicked by someone it trusted.
“I’m sorry,” she stammered. “I was just trying to help.”
“Yeah, well, you weren’t.” He felt like a dick but he couldn’t help it. How the hell was she just standing there, pretending like nothing had ever happened between them? She was acting like they were friendly strangers, not enemy exes.
“Tanner, if me being here makes you uncomfortable—”
“You’re damn right I’m uncomfortable,” he shot back. “You walk away from me what, ten, twelve years ago, without so much as a goddamn explanation, and then you just arrive here and talk to me as if nothing ever happened. I call bullshit.”
She didn’t say anything, but he could see the rapid pulse at her neck, recognized the vein that rose in her forehead, the way her tongue darted out to moisten her dry lips. It was funny what you could remember about a person, even after so long apart. “If you don’t want me here, Tanner, I’m happy to leave,” she said quietly. “I can put together a few names of great physical therapists, and you’ll receive great treatment either way.” She sighed. “And it’stwelveyears. Trust me, I remember.”
