Five minutes later, Van was all up to date with Hartson’s Creek gossip. She knew that Tanner’s brother, Gray, had built a huge mansion on the edge of town and somehow ended up living with his ex-girlfriend’s sister, which according to Regan had caused a hell of a hullabaloo in town. She also knew that Reverend Maitland had broken his leg, but was still running Sunday services on crutches, and that Della Thorsen’s dog had bitten her arm so bad it had bled for hours, yet she was still refusing to have him put to sleep.
Van took a sip of her coffee, amused at how fast Regan could talk. “Poor Mrs. Thorsen.”
“Ah, she had it coming. She’s awful. She made my mom cry at Chairs last week.”
Another mention of Chairs. Van was pretty sure her own mom had been the main topic of conversation these past two weeks at the weekly gathering.
“Have you worked at Fairfax Realty long?” Van asked her when she finally got a word in.
“Five years. I started working right before I got pregnant with my second.” Regan shrugged. “Mr. Fairfax nearly blew a gasket when I told him.”
Van bet he did. “So you must know who owns my mom’s house. One seven five Second Street?”
Regan pulled her lip between her teeth. “One seven five?” she mused. “The one with the oak in the front?”
“That’s the one. Used to be owned by Simon Klein.”
Regan’s face lit up. “Oh, Mr. Klein sold that four years ago. He’s moved to Florida. Last I heard he’d found a girlfriend who was twenty years older than him. I have no idea where they get the energy. As soon as I feed the kids all I want to do is climb into bed and sleep.”
“But do you know who he sold it to?” Van prompted.
“Oh yeah. Tanner Hartson owns it. I’d have thought you’d known that. Aren’t you two best friends?” Regan glanced at her watch. “Oh sugar, I have to go.” She shuffled her behind along the red bench seat, sliding her stomach along the rim of the table. “It was real good to see you, Van. Maybe I’ll see you at Chairs.”
Van nodded. “Sure. It was great to see you, too.”
Regan finally got to the edge of the seat. Feeling sorry for her, Van stood and helped her up, curling her fingers around the pregnant woman’s palm.
“Thank you,” Regan said, leaning forward to give her a hug. “You’re very kind.” She hobbled to the door, and Van found herself running past her to pull it open.
“There you go.”
Van watched her slowly walk toward Fairfax Realty, as her stomach dropped at the news Regan had let slip.
Tanner Hartson owned her mom’s house, and by the sound of it he had for a few years now. But why would he do that when they weren’t even talking to each other?
Blowing out a mouthful of air, Van watched as Regan waddled back into her office, the door closing quickly behind her. Van walked back to the table, the thought of Tanner, her mom’s bungalow, and Johnny Fairfax rushing through her mind.
A few days ago she’d thought she’d come back and not let this town affect her.
So much for that.
Tanner stretched his long legs out beneath the kitchen table the next morning, scrolling through the laptop he’d had couriered over yesterday. His work laptop had been surrendered as part of the company sale, along with his work phone and his sense of purpose. He raised an eyebrow, remembering how he used to be cash rich and time poor. All those things he’d said he’d do when he had the time to do them, and now he couldn’t remember any of them.
So instead he was spending way too much of his free time remembering how Van Butler’s ass looked in her tight shorts when she was running. Which really didn’t feel like a bad way to waste away the minutes.
He shifted in the chair, scanning the screen in front of him, shaking his head as he scrolled down again.
“What are you doing?” Becca asked, walking into the room. She leaned over the table to look at his laptop.
“I’m looking at houses.”
“In Hartson’s Creek?”
He scrolled down again. “Yep.”
“For an investment?” She poured some coffee into an insulated mug, then grabbed an apple and a candy bar from the cupboard. “What?” she asked, noticing Tanner’s amused stare. “I’m late for work. And I need the energy.”
“If there’s one thing you don’t need, it’s more energy,” Tanner said dryly. “And no, it’s not for an investment. It’s for me.”
“Good morning,” Aunt Gina said, walking into the kitchen with the newspaper in her hand. She pulled it from the plastic wrap and placed it to the side, the way she always did for his dad. It was hard to remember his life without Aunt Gina in it. She’d arrived the day after Tanner’s mom – her sister – died, and hadn’t left since. They’d been lucky to have her, especially with their dad being as taciturn as he was.
Aunt Gina was the balm to his father’s sting. More than once she’d stepped between his dad and Gray as they faced up to each other, before Gray left town in search of stardom. And though he’d mellowed a little over the past year, their father still made them all feel uncomfortable. Maybe it was a good thing he spent most of his time in his office.
Aunt Gina pulled a pan from beneath the stove, lighting up the heat and pouring oil into the center. “How many eggs do you want with your breakfast?” she asked Tanner.
“None.” Tanner winked at her. “I’m going running in a minute. I don’t want any breakfast, thank you.”
Their father walked into the kitchen and sat in the chair opposite Tanner’s. The light atmosphere almost immediately dissipated, the way it always did when he was around. Aunt Gina gave him the paper and he folded it over, unfolding his reading glasses and perching them on the tip of his nose.
“Oh shoot, I’m late. But I want to hear more about this house.” Becca gave Tanner a meaningful look. “And by the way, I heard you weren’t running alone yesterday. Is that why you’re so keen to go out again this morning?”
“I run every day,” Tanner said mildly. Becca had no chance of making him uncomfortable. He’d lived most of his life with Gray, Cam, and Logan. All masters at making others squirm. She was a mere pretender.
She glanced at her watch again, her expression torn. “But not in the mornings. You usually run in the evenings. You always have.”
He shrugged. “I’ve got more time on my hands. I’m switching things up.”
Letting out a grunt of annoyance, Becca stomped out of the kitchen, waving her hand in goodbye and spilling coffee everywhere. Tanner smirked but said nothing.
“Who have you been running with?” Aunt Gina asked, sliding the eggs onto the crisp bread she’d toasted. She put the plate in front of his dad.
“Nobody you know.” He finished his coffee, putting his mug in the new dishwasher Gray had bought last Christmas. “I’m off, I’ll see you later.”
“Will you be back for lunch?” Aunt Gina called at him as he grabbed the backdoor handle.
“Probably not. Don’t make anything for me.” When he turned to shoot her his usual grin she was staring at him, her brows dipped. “You okay?”