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“Ford, this is Everly. You missed her when she was here earlier.”

Her nervousness faded away when Ford smiled at her. “Hey, Everly. It’s nice to meet you.” He chuckled. “Sorry I wasn’t around earlier; I felt like I missed out – the guys were saying how great you are.”

She smiled as she shook hands with him. “It’s nice to meet you, too.”

“Well, I hope I’ll see you at lunch tomorrow. I was just about to turn in. I came out to make sure that you guys were okay – I heard the truck. I take it that it was a deer?” he asked Tanner.

Tanner laughed. “It was. I got lucky this time; I missed it.”

Ford grinned at Everly. “I hope you’ll stick around. You must be his lucky charm; it’s hard to avoid hitting them, we’ve all done it, but Tanner doesn’t usually miss.”

Tanner grinned at her. “See, I told you.”

“Okay, goodnight, guys.” Ford turned and disappeared inside as Everly called,goodnight, after him.

Tanner took her hand and led her into the house. The big farmhouse kitchen only added to her impression of a warm and wonderful family home.

He went to the fridge and grabbed two bottles of beer. “Do you want one of these? There’s probably some wine if…”

“I’m good with one of those, thanks.”

He grinned and caught her hand again. She followed him up the wide stairs, marveling as she went at just how beautiful the house was. It was all made of logs, even the staircase. She ran her free hand along the well-worn banister. It was a whole different world from the one she came from, and it hit her hard that she needed to remember that. As wonderful as Tanner was, this was just a very brief interlude in her life. A life that she needed to get back to and get on with.

As he opened the door to his bedroom, she told herself that after tonight, she’d have to deal with reality again. She’d have to decide whether it was worth hanging on and hoping that she might get to see her dad, or if she should kiss Tanner goodbye and go home.

Inside his room, he set the bottles on his nightstand and came to stand in front of her. That smile! When he met her gazeand rested his hands on her shoulders, her tummy flipped over. She promised herself that she’d deal with reality tomorrow, but tonight? Tonight, she was going to make the most of being with Tanner.

“You okay?” His voice sounded huskier than usual, and it sent shivers down her spine.

“I’m more than okay. Are you?”

“Almost.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means that I think I’m on the verge of being more okay than I’ve ever been, but I need you to tell me first that this is what you want.”

She rested her hands on his waist. “You can’t tell?”

He leaned in and brushed his lips over hers, making her sigh.

“I think so, but I don’t want to guess – I need to know. You’ve got me turned inside out and upside down, darlin’. I need to hear you say it.”

She raised her eyebrows – she knew what he meant, but she wasn’t sure just which words he wanted to hear.

“Tell me that you want this – that you want me.”

She melted against him as she slid her arms around his neck. “I want you, Tanner.”

“Thank fuck for that!”

She giggled as he tightened his arms around her waist and lifted her so that her feet left the floor.

“I want you so bad, Ev.” He walked over to the bed and laid her down on it, crawling up over her until he was looking down into her eyes. “Kiss me.”

She clung to him and did as he asked, surprised at the needy little noises that seemed to be coming from somewhere within her. She wasn’t conscious of making them, she was only aware of his hands on her clothes, stripping her down. She tried to do the same to him, but her fumbling fingers were no match for his belt buckle.

When she was naked, he lifted his head and smiled. “You’re beautiful, Everly.”