Page 7 of All Night with the Cowboy
Tanner’s laugh was deep and low. “You think you’d be sitting here right now if she had?”
The burn that spread up Lauren’s neck and across her cheeks must have made her skin flare bright red. Of course. Tanner had had nothing to do with all this, it had all been Mia. She should have guessed.
“Well, if you change your mind about the trip, please let me know,” she said, standing up and brushing her hands down her jeans for no good reason at all. But it gave her something to do and it meant she could avoid looking at Tanner for a short moment. “I’ll let myself out.”
He had one crutch extended like he was about to get up, but then he set it down and watched her, his mouth set in a grim line now. She wasn’t sure if it was pain, discomfort, or just displeasure about the whole situation they were in.
“You don’t want to examine me?” he asked.
Lauren shook her head. “We’ve got plenty of time for that in Fiji once you’re out of your cast.” She didn’t want to get that close to him, not today. She didn’t want to touch him or smell him or look up into eyes that she’d once imagined spending a lifetime looking into. “See you next week.”
“Yeah, next week,” Tanner replied.
Lauren walked quickly away, through the door to the living room, down the hall, and out the front to her car. When she got there, shoes crunching over the gravel, she leaned against the car and took a deep breath. It caught in her lungs, catching as she tried to exhale, and she pressed her palms to the metal.
Tanner Ford.She wanted to scream, to slam herhands against the car, to march back in there and tell him to man the hell up and stop living in the past. But the trouble was, the past had just rushed back at her as fast as an oncoming freight train, and she was suddenly a head-over-heels eighteen-year-old again, walking away from the boy she loved.
***
Tanner stood in the kitchen, leaning on the counter and staring outside. Being inside and not doing something on the ranch felt like torture. He was a sun-on-his-face, hands-dirty, hard-work kind of guy. He glanced down at his fingernails and cracked up laughing at how clean they were—they looked like they belonged to another man. A city slicker. This must be what his brother’s hands look like.
“How you doing there, son?”
Tanner turned and found his father standing a few paces away. He smiled and shrugged. “Honestly? I’m going stir crazy. I hate being stuck inside.”
“Then go outside,” his dad said. “Get one of the guys to bring up a quad bike and find a way to get out of the house.”
He was right. He was miserable and driving himself crazy, but if he wanted to get out, he could be. “Yeah, you’re right. I just hate being a burden on anyone, you know? I don’t like asking for help.”
“How’d it go with the physical therapist?” Walter asked, opening the fridge and pulling out a sandwich that had been prepared and left for him. He unwrapped it and put the plate on the counter dividing the kitchen, gesturing to Tanner to share it with him. “She sure left here in one hell of a hurry. Looked like she’d seen aghost when she stood out there at her car. I thought she was going to burst into tears, but she just jumped in and off she went.”
Tanner stifled a groan and reached for half the sandwich to avoid having to answer.
“I know you’re pissed with the world right now, but there’s no reason to treat a lady—”
“I didn’t do anything,” Tanner said, mouth full as he quickly chewed and swallowed. “We have history, that’s all. Unpleasant history.”
“Ah, I see.” His father settled onto one of the kitchen stools, but Tanner stayed on the other side, propped up by his elbow as he leaned forward to take the weight off his foot. “Anything you want to talk about, son?”
Tanner grinned. “Nope.” He could have told his dad that he was probably the only person on the planet who didn’t know about his history with Lauren—he’d never been that interested in his kids’ social lives back then—but he kept his mouth shut.
“Well, how about we finish this sandwich and then figure out a way to get you the hell out of this house,” Walter said, chuckling as he spoke. “You’re like a wild animal caged in here. The sooner we break you out, the better.”
Tanner nodded. “Sounds like a plan. And I’ll be out of your hair soon, I promise.” It had been strange living at home again—he often stayed when he came to visit because his place was a couple hours’ drive away, but being back for an extended period had been weird. Although it hadn’t exactly been hard having the ground-floor bedroom and adjoining bathroom in his family home, with a housekeeper preparing his meals and a nurse coming by every couple of days to check on him.
“You know, it’s nice having you home. It’s a strange thing having grown-up kids.”
Tanner grinned. “You lovenothaving us around you mean,” he joked.
His father shook his head. “It gets lonely rattling around in a house like this alone, trust me. I keep telling your sister that and she teases me about all the traveling I do and how often I eat out, but when you get older, the last thing you want to do is end up sitting alone, wearing slippers and watching television every night.”
Tanner leaned over and slapped his father on the shoulder, meeting his gaze. “Well, how about we have a drink tonight and play cards, like old days,” he suggested. “You might be able to teach me a thing or two.”
Walter winked at Tanner. “You’re on, son.”
Tanner was about to open his mouth again, to tell his dad he was looking forward to it, when Walter stood up and took the plate to the sink. “While we’re at it, you can tell me all about your plans for after this accident. You know I could do with you working on land acquisitions with me now that you’re ready to give up bull riding and get a real job. What do you say?”
Tanner froze. Anger spread whip-fast up his body and he clenched his fists and stood upright. Why the hell did his family think they could goddamn tell him what to do? What was it about earning millions as one of the best professional bull riders since Ryder King had reigned supreme were they not getting? It wasn’t some pathetic childhood hobby he’d plugged away at without succeeding in his own right.
