“He’s a military man and protective of you. He has my respect,” he says, and my heart warms, because that means a lot coming from Earl, since he didn’t even like Galvin, and he knew him for years. “See you tonight.” He gets in his truck, and I stand back, waving as he drives off, then head inside, finding Tanner at the stove.
“Earl’s going to come over for dinner tonight.”
“Good, I’d like to pick his brain about some stuff,” he says, flipping over a pancake, and I frown.
“What kind of stuff?” I hop up on the counter next to the stove and pick up my coffee to take a sip.
“Work in the area, that kind of thing.”
“What?” I frown at the side of his head. “Why would you want to know about work when you have a job back home in Montana?”
“I’m selling my portion of Live Life to the guys,” he replies, and my stomach bottoms out while my chest starts to feel funny.
“I don’t understand.” I shake my head. “When did that happen?”
“Yesterday.”
Yesterday? Yesterday, after he left Montana to fly with me to Oregon?
“You told me that you love your job and that Maverick and Blake are your family.”
“Shit changes.” I watch his jaw flex as he shrugs. Seeing that and knowing how Blake felt about Tanner and me getting together, and Tanner now here with me, I can’t help but wonder if this is all my fault.
“Tanner, I—”
“Don’t, Cybil,” he says, cutting me off before I can tell him that he needs to really think about this. “We need to eat breakfast; then you should call Bernard to see if Maisie’s been moved to her room so you can go spend some time with her.”
Chewing the inside of my cheek, I study him for a long moment, trying to figure out what to say, but the waves of frustration or anger coming off him are not making me feel like he’d be open to me saying anything at all. “Okay,” I say, giving in, and he nods once before looking at me and cupping my jaw.
“It will be okay.”
“Sure,” I agree, not believing him but praying he’s right.
Chapter 21
CYBIL
Hand in hand with Tanner, I knock on the door to Maisie’s room and peek my head in, seeing a nurse standing next to her bed, with Bernard asleep, taking up the chair next to it. “Is it all right for us to come in?” I whisper when her eyes meet mine.
“Yep, I just finished up.” She shoots me a smile before taking in the man at my side, getting a look of appreciation on her face that I’ve seen from other women when they come face to face with Tanner. Hell, I’m pretty sure I had that look the first time I saw him in all his glory.
“How’s she doing today?” I ask quietly, stepping farther into the room.
“She’s doing great,” she assures me as I let go of Tanner’s hand and take the flowers he’s carrying in one arm. I set them on the stand under the TV before making my way to the bed. The nurse leaves, wheeling her cart out of the room.
“Hey,” I say quietly when Bernard opens his eyes, and he smiles at me before he looks over at Maisie and sits up.
“I must have fallen asleep.”
“I’m sure you’re tired.” I lean over to place a kiss on his cheek. “Tanner and I are going to be here for a while, if you want to go stretch your legs and get a coffee.”
“Thanks, sweetheart.” He stands, rubbing my shoulder before patting Tanner on the back. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
“Take your time.” I watch him leave, then take a seat in his chair and pick up Maisie’s hand while Tanner sits on the AC vent next to me. Since his admission this morning, I’ve found out absolutely nothing about why he’s decided to sell his part of Live Life Adventures. But I have found out he’s not open to talking about it. And I know this because when I tried to bring it up while we were showering, he avoided the conversation by distracting me with a kiss before fucking me against the wall. It worked, but then again, when it comes to him, I’m apparently weak.
“Hey, sweet girl.” Maisie’s fingers tightening around mine bring me out of my head, and I focus on her sleepy pale face.
“Hey.” I get up and lean over the rail on the bed to kiss her cheek; then I lean back and glance quickly over my shoulder. “I want you to meet someone.”
“Tanner.” She smiles tiredly as he walks around to the opposite side of the bed and bends to kiss her cheek.
“It’s nice to meet you, ma’am.”
“Please call me Maisie. Ma’am makes me feel old, when I already feel ancient lying in this hospital bed.” She pats his hand, resting on the side of the bed, then turns her head toward me. “I’ve missed you, pretty girl.”
“I missed you too.” Tears cloud my vision, and she forces me to release her hand, then cups my cheek.
“No tears.”
“I can’t help it.” I cover her hand with mine and close my eyes. Pain lances through my chest as I flash back to being in this exact position with my mom on more than one occasion. I don’t know what I would do if I lost Maisie.
“Look at me, sweetheart,” she orders, and I blink my eyes open to meet her gaze. “I’m okay, and I’m going to be just fine.”
“I know,” I say quietly, and she nods, then looks between Tanner and me. “Now, with you both here, I want to hear everything that happened on your adventure and how you two ended up together.”
I listen to Tanner laugh, and I smile.
“There’s a lot to tell you.”
“Well, I have a lot of time,” she says, so I dive into the story of how we met and everything that went on after.
Halfway through the story of when I found out Tanner would be my partner for the week, Bernard comes back, with Jade in tow. They pull up chairs and listen to me tell Maisie about everything that happened, including all the beautiful places we visited, Oliver and Lauren’s arguments and escapades, getting lost and then shot at by poachers, and everything in between. By the time I finish, the three of them are staring at me like they’ve never seen me before. Then again, they haven’t; I used to always stick close to home, and I never really took any unnecessary risks.
“Well, that Lauren woman sounds horrible, but I have to say she redeemed herself by helping you when you sliced your hand open,” Maisie says, shaking her head and smiling.
“I’m not even a little surprised you put up a tent on your own just to prove a point to her,” Jade says with a laugh.
“Are we going to talk about her getting shot at?” Bernard asks, and I smile at him.
“No, Tanner doesn’t like to talk about me getting shot at.”
“You say that like it’s happened more than once.” He frowns and I smile.
“Well, this morning, Tanner was taking out the trash when Earl came over to check on my place. He thought Tanner was robbing me, and he pulled a gun on him.”
“Oh shit,” Jade breathes, and I look at her and nod.
“I know, and when I opened the door and stepped outside, he shot over the top of my trailer, scaring me so badly I fell down the steps.”