“I’m not going to cry,” I deny, even though I’ve been a weepy mess all morning. “I think I might be allergic to the pain meds.”
“Sure.” He smiles as Parker and Tanner both laugh. The truth is I had no idea it would be so hard to say goodbye to everyone. Oliver and Lauren were the first to leave this morning. I wasn’t too broken up about them going, but I still got emotional. Then Avery and Grant took off, anxious to see their son, and I cried like a baby. Now I feel the tears coming on again, and I’m not sure I’ll be able to hold them back.
“We’ll see you in a few days.” Parker closes the distance between us, dropping a kiss to my cheek before looking at Tanner and patting his shoulder. “Take care of her.”
Tanner doesn’t respond, but he does lift his chin, which I’m guessing is his badass way of agreeing.
“Drive safe, guys.” I wave at the two of them as they get into their Jeep, then watch as they back out and drive off with a honk.
“Are you okay?” Tanner asks, turning me to face him, and I nod, then drop my forehead against his chest. “Tired or pain?” His arms slide around me.
“A little of both.” Even after going to sleep early, I still feel like I could sleep for a year. The pain in my hand was relentless all night and kept waking me up. “I’ll take a pain pill after we get to your house.”
“I got some water for you in my truck. You can take one on the way.”
“I’m driving, so I don’t think that would be smart.”
“You’re not driving.” He gives me a squeeze.
“Yes, I am.” I tip my head back to look at him and frown at the look he’s giving me.
“You’re not.”
“I am.”
“Cybil, you can barely use your hand, and your ankle is fucked up. You don’t need to be driving. You can ride with me, and I’ll sort out someone to drive your Bronco up to my place later.”
“I’m fine.” I cross my arms over my chest and match his glare with one of my own. “I can drive myself to your place; then you won’t have to worry about getting someone else to take time out of their day to deliver my car to me.”
“You’re not driving.” He glares, and I press my lips together, because it would be rude to laugh in his face.
“You are not the boss of me, Tanner. I want my car with me,” I say, and he studies me for a long moment. He must see I’m not going to give in, because he lets out a loud disgruntled sigh.
“Fine, I’ll drive your car. My bike is at home. I’ll ride it down and pick up my truck later.”
“Really?” I roll my eyes. “Tanner, that is not necessary. I can just follow you.”
“No, either you ride with me, or I drive your Bronco. You choose.”
Letting out a frustrated huff, I give in and toss him my keys. “Fine, but if you hurt Sammy, you and I are going to have problems.”
“I don’t think Sammy would notice even if she was rolled off a cliff,” he says, looking at her rusty and dented exterior with his lip curled.
“She was my mom’s, so I would notice,” I inform him.
Understanding fills his gaze, and his expression softens. “Right, I promise I’ll take good care of her,” he assures me, walking to the passenger side to let me in. “I’m going to get my bag and shit from my truck. I’ll be right back.” He gives me a swift kiss before slamming my door. As I wait for him to return, my cell phone vibrates, and I open it up to find multiple messages from Jade asking if I’m okay. Instead of sending her a text back, I dial her number and listen to it ring as Tanner puts his stuff in the trunk.
“You know, it’s really annoying that I can’t just drive out to your house to check on you when you don’t answer your phone,” Jade greets in my ear, and I smile.
“Sorry, I ended up having to get stitches yesterday, and by the time I got back to the lodge, the only thing I wanted to do was shower and sleep.”
“You had to get stitches?” I hear the worry in her voice. “What happened?”
“Long story short, I tripped, fell, and cut my hand open. I’m fine, though,” I assure her.
“You’ve always been clumsy, so I’m not even a little surprised. So when will you be home?”
“Umm . . .” I look at Tanner as he opens the driver’s side door and gets in. “In a week.”
“Oh. I thought you planned on driving back today.”
“That was the plan before, but I’m going to spend a week with Tanner and—”
“Sorry,” she says, cutting me off before I can explain who Tanner is. “What did you say? I think I heard you wrong. It sounded like you said you were spending a week with a man named Tanner.”
“That’s what I said,” I say as he starts the engine, which transfers the call to the car stereo system. Sammy might be old, but she has been updated a lot, just not on the outside. “Please don’t start freaking out.”
“You’re going to stay in Montana for a week with a man you don’t know, and you don’t want me to freak out?” Jade’s voice rings through the interior, and I smile awkwardly at Tanner.
“I do know him,” I say with a sigh, trying not to get frustrated with her. “I just spent an entire week with him. He’s not some random man I met at a bar.”
“Okay, but you still don’t know him, Cybil, and this is so not like you. I mean, is this because Galvin and Chris got married?” she asks, and Tanner’s hand on the steering wheel tightens, turning his knuckles white.
“Are you kidding me?” I take a breath to make sure that I choose my next words wisely. “I agreed to this week with Tanner before I even knew about Galvin and Chris, so no, this isn’t because of them. I’m staying because I really like him. I like spending time with him, and I’m not ready to leave yet. Plus, I planned on taking two weeks off, so I don’t have to rush home.”
“Mom and Dad are going to lose their minds,” she says, and I can picture her rubbing her forehead or stomping around in her store.
“Probably,” I agree, not looking forward to calling them and wondering how long I can put it off. “Then again, they were okay that time you snuck off to Cabo with that guy you met at the airport when you were supposed to be coming home from seeing your grandma. So even if they are mad, they’ll get over it eventually.”
“That and this are not even close to the same thing,” she hisses as Tanner drives us down the tree-lined dirt road away from the lodge, moving one hand to wrap around my thigh.
“How is this any different?”
“Because you’re Cybil. You don’t do wild shit like that, and I don’t even know this guy. He could be—”
“You’re on speakerphone right now,” I say, cutting her off before she says something that will embarrass me more than I already am. “And I’m not doing anything wild. I’m spending more time with someone I just spent a week with.”
“You’re spending time with a man,” she says, seemingly unconcerned that he can hear everything she’s saying.
“Yes,” I agree. “And?”