Page 14

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

F OR A WEEK , Tanner stayed so busy with jobs created from storm damage that he didn’t have time to dwell on Callie. Much, anyway.

Damn, he missed her.

A dozen times he thought about calling her, but he never did.

She hadn’t reached out either. At least, not to him.

He knew Addie had seen her a few times. And Liam told him that Callie had taken to visiting Rebel—but only when he was away. He was disappointed that she hadn’t asked him to show her the horse. It was something he’d actually anticipated after all their teasing back and forth.

After Sutter and her parents had visited her, it was as if things had changed. Right there, on the spot. They’d left the bed, hell broke loose, and everything from the night before had just evaporated. Partially his fault—but she had a hand in that, too.

And damn it, he was thinking about her again. It irritated him that his thoughts remained on a perpetual loop that sooner or later, centered back on Callie.

It was well past dinnertime when he got home. Eight days since he’d slept with Callie. It felt like a month. Or longer.

He was barely inside the house when Addie and Blu joined him in the kitchen, the first greeting him with a kiss to the cheek, and the other with an enthusiastically wagging tail.

Tanner knelt down to shower love on the dog. “Sorry I couldn’t take you with me today, bud. It was a long job and way too damn messy.”

“Go shower,” Addie suggested as she pulled containers from the refrigerator. “I’ll heat up your dinner so it’s ready when you’re done.”

As always, he said, “I could heat it up myself.”

She sent him a look. “You know I want to, so go on.”

Something in Addie’s expression warned him. “Everything okay?”

“Everything is fine, but we do have stuff to discuss, which we can do sooner if you’ll get on with it.”

He half grinned. “Yes, ma’am.” Blu followed him from the room, then stuck near the shower door while Tanner let the hot water wash away the sweat and dirt, and unkink his tired muscles. What a day it had been.

He’d talked to Liam earlier, so he knew Callie had been busy all week redecorating. It amused Liam that every single day, Callie found something new that she wanted to change. It kept Liam working and helped give odd jobs to others in the area. Tanner didn’t know all the details, and he didn’t want to grill Liam on it, but he was curious.

Maybe he’d find an excuse to check on Callie and from there he’d see how things progressed.

If they went from “how’ve you been?” to another overnighter, he’d be fine with that. Now that he’d had her once, he wanted her again. Always. Every damn night—and during the day, too.

After he’d finished his shower and dressed in jogging pants, a T-shirt, and sneakers, he took Blu out and then joined Addie in the kitchen. Percy the cat was there, presumably waiting for Blu to settle so he could snuggle. “Something smells good.”

“Grab a seat,” she said, then proceeded to serve him pot roast, potatoes, carrots, and corn bread with a tall glass of iced tea.

Sure enough, when Blu sprawled out next to Tanner’s chair, Percy curled up near his hip.

“I missed lunch.” Tanner dug in, then hummed his appreciation and gave his usual heartfelt compliment. “No one cooks like you, Addie.”

“You’re biased, but thank you.” She took the seat opposite him. “I saw Callie again today.”

“Oh?”

“She wanted me to know that she’s having a little birthday gathering for Nell next Saturday. We’re all invited.”

“A birthday gathering?” As he ate, Tanner wondered what had brought that on. “I didn’t know they were close.”

“Nell won her over with one visit. I think she’s been back there every other day.” Sitting forward in her seat and crossing her arms on the table, Addie asked, “Did you know Callie does videos?”

He recalled her saying something about it. “Documenting her progress on the house or something, right?”

“Or something.”

Feeling Addie’s amusement, he asked, “What am I missing?”

“Only that she’s turning into an influencer.”

“A what?”

“I didn’t really know either, but Nell was here today to groom Blu. You know how he sheds in warmer weather. She was singing Callie’s praises the entire time.” Hearing his name, the dog tilted his head, ears perked, and swept his tail over the floor, disturbing Percy. The cat stretched, but otherwise didn’t bestir himself. “You love her, don’t you, boy?”

Tanner almost choked—until he realized Addie was talking to the dog. “Blu has loved Nell from the day he met her. She has a way about her. It’s uncanny how animals trust her.” He reached down to rub Blu around the scruff. More fur floated out, but Nell had done a great job.

Percy opened one eye, so Tanner also gave a gentle scratch to the cat’s chin before brushing his hand on his leg to remove the fur and then getting back to eating.

Thankfully, none of them were squeamish about fur. They all loved Blu and Percy too much for that.

“They’re a good judge of character,” Addie agreed. “Might be why Blu is so fond of Callie, too.”

Rather than weigh in on that, Tanner just made a sound of agreement and concentrated on cleaning his plate.

“I told Callie we’d all be there for the shindig.”

“We?”

“Me, you, and Kam. She’s insisting on doing it all herself. She has this plan of decorating the kitchen to surprise Nell. Balloons, streamers, and all that. I’m loaning her some of our decorations. Should be fun. We haven’t done up a real birthday party since you boys were teens.”

“Not that you don’t try,” Tanner said with a grin. Addie still went overboard, but they’d left the balloons behind.

With a shrug, Addie said, “She’s ordering a fancy cake and no matter how I argued she wouldn’t agree to let me bake it.”

“Callie knows you work too hard already.”

“I could have made the cake,” she grumbled, but then got back on point. “It’ll just be Callie, us, and Liam.”

Not a surprise. Anyone who saw Liam and Nell together knew they were interested in each other. So far, Liam had steered clear though. His plans for the future didn’t leave a lot of free time, and in many ways Nell was fragile—not something Liam would miss. No one wanted to see her hurt again. Once, not long after Nell had turned sixteen, Liam had explained that she was too young for him. He’d already turned nineteen a few months before, and at the time, Tanner had agreed.

“So you’ll be there?” Addie pressed. “Kam has already confirmed.”

Tanner tried to sound casual when he said, “Sure. Should be fun,” but his thoughts had jumped ahead to seeing Callie again. He glanced at the time, but no, it was probably too late to call her. “I wonder if there’s anything she’d like us to do to help.” Tomorrow, before getting to work, he could ask her.

“I doubt it. Lately, she seems to be on a crusade to do everything, all at once, all by herself.”

That didn’t sound good. As Tanner gathered up his last bite of food, he remembered how shaken Callie had been in the storm. Thankfully, the foreseeable forecast had only the usual spring rains. “What do you mean?”

Addie nodded to his plate. “Seconds?”

“No, I’m full.” She’d already given him double portions, but then Addie had often showed her love through food. He understood. Just as he’d been ill-equipped to understand a mother-figure, she’d had little experience caring for a kid. “Thank you. It hit the spot.”

They both stood at the same time.

“I’ll clean up.” Insistent, Tanner grabbed the plate before Addie could get hold of it. For once, she didn’t debate it with him. Instead, she went to the refrigerator and lifted a magnet to free a check she’d put there.

“I want to show you something.”

“What is it?” He scraped his plate and then put his dishes in the dishwasher

“A payment from Callie.”

A payment! “For what?”

Instead of answering, she waved the check at him.

Forcing himself to be casual, Tanner rinsed and dried his hands before taking it from her.

Confusion hit him first, then anger. “What the hell?” Callie had written a hefty sum, made out to Addie, with a note for “horse upkeep.”

“My reaction, too,” Addie said. “Kam just laughed.”

“He would.” His brother found Tanner’s current predicament hilarious. Every damn day, he egged him on, telling Tanner to man up and go see her. But damn it, he knew her parents wanted her back with Sutter, and he knew Sutter had visited her.

Liam, apparently, was aligned with Kam to force him to make a move.

“I tried to give it back to her,” Addie said. “She kept insisting that I keep it because we’re taking care of Rebel. Then she asked if we wanted the horse—as a gift. She said she’d still continue to pay for him, but she knew she didn’t have the knowledge or the time to do it herself and she thought we might be attached to him.” Addie folded her arms and gave him a frown. “Tell me you’ll take care of this.”

“Yeah,” he said, knowing he now had the excuse he needed. “I will.” Tanner folded the check and stuck it in his pocket. “Where is Kam?”

“He worked late, stopped here to shower, and then headed out for a date. Said he’d be home around ten.”

So Kam wasn’t around to heckle him. “Has Sutter been back over there?”

Addie lifted one shoulder. “Since you and Callie have started avoiding each other, I haven’t seen as much of her either.”

“I’m not avoiding her.” Hell, he had been busy. More than anyone, Addie knew that.

She also knew he was full of shit.

Huffing out a breath, Tanner asked, “She’s dodging you?”

“Just not coming around like she had been. Last two times I invited her to dinner, she thanked me but declined. Then today she said she didn’t want to keep you from your own table.”

What the hell? “You told her that wasn’t the case, right?”

With a nod, Addie said, “We can’t take money from her.”

“No, we can’t.” Tanner glanced at Blu. As if the dog anticipated his next move, he jumped to his feet. Percy, put out over it, sauntered away to find another spot to sleep.

“When will you take care of it?” Addie asked.

Blu went to the door and whined. Smart dog. “Right now.” And with that decision made, Tanner already felt better.

* * *

C ALLIE STOOD IN the hallway, staring up at the attic. The scraping noise she’d heard while showering came again, making her pulse race. It was far too late to bother Liam, who would have to be up early tomorrow, and no way would she call on Tanner or Kam.

The past week had been a lesson in endurance.

A dozen times at least she’d wanted to call Tanner, but over and over again she’d reminded herself of how he had left. How he hadn’t called.

At the end of the third, lonely day without a word from him, Callie told herself to snap out of it, then she took steps in that direction by throwing herself into home repairs.

In very little time, she had completely transformed the interior.

For a reasonable price, Liam and a few of his friends had helped her put fresh paint on the walls. With the house so small, they’d accomplished it all in rapid time. Bright white in the bathroom and kitchen, pale grayish blue in the bedrooms. Light, neutral sand tone for the living room and hall.

She’d bought new window treatments, which were already installed, and she’d sent for her beautiful bedding, but it hadn’t yet arrived.

Surprisingly, the house had hardwood beneath the worn carpet. Though Liam insisted he could tear it out, without charge, Callie had hired men to come in. Since they came at a time when Liam couldn’t be there, Kam had dropped in, claiming no one wanted her home alone with strangers.

Very sweet, but she assumed that “no one” meant him and Addie. Tanner had been suspiciously absent even when she went over for dinner once.

After that, she didn’t go again. She loved seeing Addie, but it was just too awkward for her right now.

To continue her home decorating spree, she’d even gotten a new couch and chair. After adding new lamps, a throw blanket, and pillows, it looked like a brand-new house. At least on the inside.

Eventually, she’d like to have the floors refinished, but it wasn’t top of her list at the moment.

No, right now she was concentrating on being brave enough to find out what was making that awful noise in her attic.

The house wasn’t cold, but her skin prickled at the thought of going up there. Still, this was her house and she damn well needed to learn full independence.

With that decision made, she dragged a chair from the kitchen and climbed up to reach the rope hanging from the attic door. It pulled open and she saw the stairs that Liam had described to her earlier. Still hearing that odd sound, Callie imagined a rat, or possibly a raccoon, just waiting for her to stick her head up there.

But that’s exactly what a man would have done, and she didn’t have a man, so she’d have to do it. Damn it, this was one adventure she didn’t want.

Cautiously, she unfolded the wooden ladder, then went back to the kitchen to return the chair and to get both a flashlight and a broom. Awkwardly carrying them both, she slowly ascended the stairs, one step at a time, all the while her ears were straining for a sound.

The fact that it had now gone curiously silent did not reassure her.

Her chest went tight, her breathing shallow, her palms clammy. She shined the light into the opening, and found that the attic was surprisingly clean. Pausing, she forced oxygen into her lungs, then quickly went up another step and flashed the light all around.

All she saw were boxes, most of them cardboard, others wooden, along with old suitcases, some trunks, and a few pieces of broken furniture. One trunk was open, with balled-up newspaper spilling out.

At the far end of the attic, she located a window that, until now, she had only ever seen from the outside. It had always been closed, but now she noticed a broken pane in the bottom corner. Pieces of jagged glass littered the attic floor. Could a tree branch have done that? It might explain the sound she heard.

Frowning, she listened—and something moved to her right.

When she jerked around and shone the light there, she came face-to-face with an enormous snake coming out of the open trunk.

With a startled scream she dropped the broom, lost her hold on the ladder, and half slipped, half fell down, banging her arms and legs on each rung until she landed on the floor with a painful thud. For a stunned second she just lay there, shocked, the flashlight still gripped in her hand.

Until the hideous snake dropped down beside her.

Screaming again, Callie scrabbled to her feet and raced, limping, to her front door. Without daring to look back, she wrestled with the lock and just as she was turning the knob, the door was shoved open, half knocking her back.

Hard hands grabbed her upper arms. “Callie.”

She almost screamed again—until the furious barking of a dog penetrated her fear.

Somehow, Tanner was here and that was all well and good, but she wanted out. “It’s in the house!”

Tanner tugged her out and stuck her behind him as he turned to face the threat. “Blu, stay.”

The dog immediately sat beside her, even leaned against her, which absolutely helped.

Gasping every breath, aware of a sudden throbbing that radiated up her thigh, her hip, and especially into her left arm, Callie pressed her face against Tanner’s back and tried to find some composure. “Snake. Attic.” Her voice shivered. “I fell.”

“Jesus.” He looked inside, taking in the scene. “No one else is in there?”

She shook her head, then said again, “Snake.”

He turned to hold her. “Babe, it’s another rat snake, that’s all.”

Callie covered her mouth, shaking all over, hating herself and hating her newly spiffed-up house, and most especially hating freaking snakes.

Tanner was calm personified. “I’m going to take it out back, okay? You stay right here with Blu.”

“My chickens…”

“I’ll make sure it’s out of your yard. Now promise me you won’t move.”

She nodded, swallowed hard, and said, “Thank you.” As he disappeared inside, she badly wanted to sink down and just sit…but with snakes still on her mind she didn’t dare.

It was dark outside with her porch light only reaching so far. Insects buzzed around her, and in the distance she could hear music playing where the Garmet brothers lived. Off and on through the week she’d encountered them. Each time they’d briefly shared greetings, but it was clear they weren’t interested in being friends. Not after she’d wrongfully accused them.

It wasn’t until Tanner returned that she realized she was favoring one leg, cradling her hurt arm—and wearing only a T-shirt and panties.

His gaze swept over her, his brows down in a concerned frown as he eased his arm around her. “You’re turning black and blue. Come on.”

“It’s gone? You’re sure?”

“I moved the snake well away from your house and stuck it through the honeysuckle toward my house.”

If she lived to be a hundred, she’d prefer to never see another snake. An unrealistic hope given where she lived, so she needed to get over her fear. Later . “There’s a windowpane broken in my attic. I think that’s how it got in, but what did it do? Climb a tree? Where are all the snakes coming from? ”

“Shh.” Tanner got her inside and helped her to the couch.

Blu was already busy scouring the place, his nose to the ground as he searched everywhere.

“What’s he doing?”

“He knows you’re upset and he’s finding out why.” Tanner lifted her legs up to the coffee table, slipped a throw pillow under her feet, and urged her to relax. “If there’s another snake anywhere, he’ll find it.”

Glancing at the dog, Callie said, “Good boy, Blu, but be careful.”

“Why were you in the attic?”

“I kept hearing a scratching noise. Snakes don’t scratch. I wasn’t expecting it. I was thinking rat or something equally awful, but not something worse.” A shudder rippled over her, making her breath catch again. “My uncle has a trunk packed with wadded-up newspaper. The snake was moving in that and I guess that made the scratching sound.”

He gave her that endearingly crooked smile. “Don’t budge. I’ll be right back.” First he locked the front door, then he headed down the hall. When he returned, he had two hand towels that he set on the cushion beside her. Next he went into the kitchen and she heard him rummaging around before he returned with a bag of frozen diced onions, and a plastic bag of ice. “I’m going to put one on your arm, one on your thigh. Okay? It’ll sting, but it’ll help with the swelling and bruising.”

On the verge of verbally rambling again, Callie forced herself to just nod. She didn’t yet look at her arm or leg, afraid that if she did they’d start to hurt even more.

“Try not to move okay? I’ll check out the attic, make sure there aren’t any other critters up there, and then I’m going to check you.”

Check her? “Where’s Blu?”

“Here he is now.” To the dog, Tanner asked, “All clear, bud?”

For an answer, Blu jumped up on her couch and got comfortable, settling close beside her.

Tanner started to stop the dog, until she put her uninjured arm around him.

“You got new furniture,” Tanner said, concerned.

But Callie shook her head. “Blu is fine.” Staring Tanner right in his dark, sexy eyes, she said, “Anytime Blu is here, he’s welcome to get comfortable anywhere he wants. The couch…the bed. Doesn’t matter to me.”

“Okay, then.” His mouth hitched in another smile. “I’ll be right back. Try not to move too much.”

Callie nodded. With the pain settling in, she wasn’t sure she could. “Tanner? Please be careful.”

He nodded. Holding her flashlight, he headed up.

Grateful that she had Blu with her, Callie hugged the dog. He snuffled her, gave her a lick, then turned back to watch for Tanner. Body alert, Blu waited, but he didn’t really seem worried and that helped Callie not to worry. She could hear Tanner moving around up there and imagined that with the shorter ceiling it was an awkward exploration for him.

Thankfully, he wasn’t gone long, maybe ten minutes that felt like a lifetime, but when he came down the ladder, she immediately pounced. “Well?”

“No snakes,” he promised. “But I’ll need to secure that window tonight. You don’t want a bat to get in.”

No, she didn’t.

Tanner crouched down in front of her. “Have you been in the attic at all?”

“No. This would have been my first time, but it was a spectacular failure.” Seeing his expression, she frowned and asked, “Why?”

“There’s a rock in the attic. I think that’s how the window got broken. Also, the latch on the inside is opened.”

It took a second for the implications to sink in. “You think someone deliberately broke a pane of glass and got into my attic? But for what reason?” An incredulous, nervous laugh escaped her. “To toss in a snake?”

“That’s the big question, right? Actually, rat snakes are good climbers and they’re sometimes drawn to attics if you have a rat or mouse problem.”

“Okay, full-fledged freak-out coming on.”

“I looked around,” Tanner assured her. “No sign of rodent droppings and nothing was chewed up.”

Hopeful, she asked, “So no rats?”

“No signs of even a cute little mouse.”

Callie dropped her head back. “Finally, some good news.”

“Here’s the thing, though. Somehow that rock got in there. I’d think the rock was just thrown in to scare you…”

“Except for the open latch.”

He nodded. “I didn’t want to rummage through your uncle’s private things. That’s for you to do. There could be something valuable up there.” He shrugged. “But I doubt it. From what I could tell, it just looked like old photo albums and stuff from childhood.”

From Reggie’s childhood—and maybe her dad’s too? “I’d like to see them.”

“Tomorrow I can bring them down.”

So she’d see him again tomorrow? Meeting his gaze, Callie gave him an out. “I could pay Liam to do it.”

Tanner pretended to take that on the chin. “Ouch.” Expression softening, he said, “We have a lot to talk about, don’t we?”

She’d thought so, until he’d disappeared for a week—again. “You tell me.”

Cupping a hand to the side of her neck, he leaned in and put the gentlest of kisses to her lips. “We definitely do. But tonight I just want to take care of you.”

“I’ll be fine.”

Tanner withdrew. For a few seconds, he appeared to struggle before he turned direct. “Is that your body talking or your pride?”

Callie said, “Both?”

“Babe, I can see you’re hurt. If I had those bruises, I’d be hurting.” He lightly touched her leg, and true enough, his expression was pained.

Swallowing down emotion, Callie gave him a full truth. “It would be nice if just once you wanted to be with me because you like me, not because I need help.”

“Christ.” He stood to tower over her, his expression fierce. “How can you even think…” Agitated, he paced away. Or more like stormed away. Every step a stomp.

It fascinated Callie. “How can I think what?”

He spun to face her and threw out his arms. “That I don’t like you? I fucking more than like you. That should be obvious.”

Wow. Okay, that sounded genuine. And calm, in-control Tanner, unraveling and having a fit? She liked it. How twisted was that?

She wished she could get to her feet too, square off with him face-to-face for this discussion, but she plain didn’t feel like moving yet. She settled on saying, “That’s odd, since you’re always trying to get me to move away.”

Almost immediately, he shuttered his expression. “We shouldn’t ignore that broken window. Something else could get in.”

So much for liking her.

One look at the ladder and Callie knew there was no way she’d go back up there—if she even could with her arm and hip throbbing.

“I can temporarily cover it,” Tanner offered.

The very last thing she wanted to do was impose on him, and yet, she sensed it would hurt him more if she refused. “Okay, thank you.” When his gaze locked to hers, she smiled. “Seriously, I hate bothering you, but—”

Abruptly, he turned away.

Message received. He didn’t want her gratitude. For the next twenty minutes, Tanner was busy getting tools from her garage, along with scraps of plywood, while she stewed in silence.

So he more than liked her, but he didn’t want to talk about it? Men were so damned complicated.

It made a racket when he went up again and began hammering the cover into place. When he finally finished and put the pulldown ladder away, she was relieved. On top of the aches and pains in her body, her head was starting to pound.

“It’s not pretty,” he said. “But it’s secure. Liam can probably recommend someone to replace the glass if that’s what you want, or you could permanently board up the window.”

“I like the second idea.” She did not want any more snake surprises. It was bad enough finding them outside.

Tanner patted his thigh and Blu got down. “Good boy.” He petted the dog, then eased into his place beside Callie and lifted the compress off her arm with a wince. “It could be broken.”

Cautiously, she wiggled her fingers. “It’s sore, but not enough pain to be a break.”

“Can you straighten it?” Tanner helped by supporting her wrist and elbow.

Very carefully, in small degrees, she moved her arm, bent her elbow, and turned her wrist. Yes it hurt. Fiercely. But not the way she assumed a break would hurt. “Some aspirin and rest, and I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

Though he clearly didn’t want to, Tanner accepted that. “Let’s check out your leg.”

“I’m not wearing shorts.”

“Believe me, honey, I noticed.” He lifted away the ice. His voice went a little hoarse when he said, “God, that looks awful.”

“I bruise easily.” Although she’d never had bruises like these. It was easier to see her thigh than her arm. Yup, it did look horrid—a swollen hot-pink splotch the size of her fist, surrounded by purple that faded into dark blue. “Looks like the galaxy, right?”

He was not in a teasing mood. “You could have broken your neck.”

If he hadn’t whispered it, she might have been offended. “It’s not like I meant to fall. The snake startled me.”

“Good thing I was close.”

True, but that led to a new question. “It’s late, so why are you here?”

Tanner got to his feet. “We’ll get to that, but first let’s see if you can stand.”

“Of course I can. I ran outside, remember?”

“You were riding on adrenaline then. Come on.”

Again with care, she slowly got to her feet. Tanner’s supporting arm around her back helped, and it wasn’t too excruciating, even when she put weight on her leg. “See, no real damage, just colorful.”

“You’re going to feel it tomorrow.”

More than she felt it now? Not an uplifting thought. Determined, she started to limp her way to the kitchen. With a full day tomorrow, she’d need to get to bed soon.

There’d been a time in her life when thoughts of sleep wouldn’t have occurred to her until at least midnight. Clearly, those days were long past.

Tanner carried the makeshift ice packs in one hand so he could keep his other arm around her.

So much for her show of independence.

In the kitchen, he replaced the ice in the plastic bag, and substituted the frozen diced onions for frozen French fries. “Be as pissed at me as you want—you still need to keep icing both spots, okay?”

“I’m not pissed.” Not anymore. Mostly she was confused, and she wanted to hear more about him liking her, but she didn’t want to badger him for the info.

At the refrigerator, she reached for the milk but Tanner got it before her.

“You’re hungry?” he asked. “What do you want? I’ll get it for you.”

Exasperation overwhelmed her and that turned into a frustrated laugh. When she looked at his frowning face, it amused her even more. “I haven’t seen you for over a week, Tanner. Eight whole days. Not a peep.”

“I know how long it’s been.”

“Perfect. So give me a reason for your visit tonight, and then give me some privacy so I can tend my bruised body without an audience.”

The way he stared down at her, those brown eyes searching yet unflinching, put Callie on the defense.

“Well?”

Tanner pulled her check from his pocket. He showed it to her, then ripped it in half, then into four pieces and tossed it in her trash can. “Addie doesn’t want it. Kam and I don’t want it. We’re happy to have Rebel though, so if you really don’t mind us keeping the horse, then we thank you for the gift.”

She’d forgotten all about the check and tonight she didn’t have it in her to fight about it. “Fine. The horse is yours. He was already yours, really. I appreciate how you’ve cared for him. Now I need a cookie”—or two or twelve—“with my milk, and I need to be alone.”

Leaning back on the counter, Tanner said, “The check was a great excuse, by the way.”

Oh, that did it. “I did not give Addie the check as an excuse to see you! I waited until you wouldn’t be there.”

“I’m aware, which means you were dodging me, not the other way around.”

Her eyes flared. Damn it. She wouldn’t let him put this on her. “You made yourself clear—”

“Apparently not.” He touched her cheek oh-so-gently. “What I meant was that returning it to you gave me a great excuse to see you .”

If her body wasn’t aching, Callie would have thrown up her hands. He had her interest, so instead she drew a calming breath and said, “A cup of milk please, and just bring the whole pack of cookies. I’m going to need them.”

Tanner’s mouth curled in the barest of smiles. “Thank you, Callie.”

She didn’t bother replying. For real, she needed to get off her feet. With Blu keeping pace at her side, she returned to the couch and managed to get settled with only a few groans of misery.

* * *

H E’D MISSED HER so much. Even more than he’d realized. Being with her now was like coming out of a dark cave for the first time in a week. Didn’t even matter that she kept trying to kick him out.

Yeah, right . Of course it mattered. No way could Tanner convince himself otherwise.

At the same time, he reasoned that if she hadn’t wanted to see him, she wouldn’t be so angry now. Plus she’d shared that bit about wanting him to like her. As if he wasn’t already half in love with her.

Sucked that he didn’t better understand her. However, he had a chance to change that tonight.

With everything on a tray, including the refreshed ice packs, Tanner rejoined her. She was putting up a good show, but he could tell she was shot, hurting, tired, and overall miserable.

Hoping to ease into things, he got her situated, watched her devour a cookie in one bite, and then looked around again. “The house looks great.”

The compliment took the edge off her attitude. “Thanks. I think so, too. With everything spiffed up, the charm is coming through.”

“Before your changes, I didn’t know the place had charm. I see it now though.” He ran a hand over the fabric of her new couch. “With this warmer weather, Blu is going to shed.”

She leaned over and kissed his dog. “I don’t mind.”

“Then would it be okay if I put down a bowl of water for him?” With any luck, he and Blu would be around a while.

“Of course.” She hesitated one second, a cookie dunked in her milk, then said, “I picked up some treats for him, too.”

Blu was quick to catch that word, his eyes hopeful.

Grinning, Callie kissed him again. “I thought I’d be seeing more of you, bud.” She shot a mean look at Tanner. “Didn’t know your daddy would dodge me.”

“I’m not his daddy .” For God’s sake, he didn’t think of Blu as a son. “We’re…friends. And we already established that you were the dodger.”

Callie snorted. “Fine. Whatever. Get your pal a couple of treats, will you? I put a variety in the pantry.”

Pleased that she’d planned on seeing him and disgruntled that she hadn’t reached out, Tanner returned to the kitchen. Getting things set up for Blu gave him a minute to sort out his thoughts.

He wanted to stay with her. Obviously, he’d have to clear up some misconceptions first. Maybe it was time to be up-front with her.

After finding the treats, including a chew that would keep the dog busy for a little while, he whistled. Blu stuck his head in the kitchen with a “what?” look on his furry face. Tanner grinned. “Come here, Blu.” Once the dog sniffed the water bowl and got assurance that it was for him, he took a long drink. “I know you’d like to stick close to Callie, but how about leaving that to me for a bit?” He offered the chew. “This might help, right?”

From the living room, Callie said, “I can hear you.”

“I don’t mind,” he called back, glad that she didn’t deny his plans.

Blu accepted the treat, but he carried it back to the living room. Instead of getting on the couch with Callie, he curled up on the rug in front of the door.

When Tanner carefully seated himself next to Callie, she asked, “Want a cookie?”

“No, I’m good. Thanks.” He did another check of her arm and thigh, then got down to business. “I’ve missed you.”

Her beautiful blue gaze lifted to his.

“So damn much,” he admitted.

She took a second, then whispered, “I missed you, too.”

A big admission, considering her earlier anger. He figured he might as well go for it. “Since I’m here and Blu seems settled, how about another overnight?”

Callie was quiet a long moment, then she put down her cookie. “I’m trying not to be a wimp, but I’m not up for anything physical tonight.”

It wasn’t easy, but he didn’t grin. “I just want to be near you.” If she needed anything, if it turned out her injuries were worse… He wanted to hold her. “I’m a light sleeper so I promise not to hurt you during the night. Blu will be fine sleeping on the floor at my side of the bed.”

To his surprise, she didn’t immediately refuse. “If I agree, are you going to assume I’m still shaken up over a snake?”

“I’ll assume that, like me, you prefer not to sleep alone.”

Callie rubbed one eye. “If you prefer that, you could have said so at any point over the last many days.”

So she would have been fine with him making nightly calls? Nice. He could hopefully build on that. “You could have said so, too. Last I saw, your parents were visiting and your ex was coming over, and then…nothing.”

“You already knew how I felt about Sutter!”

“But I didn’t know how you felt about me.”

Frowning, she grabbed up another cookie and muttered, “I came to dinner when Addie invited me, and you weren’t there.”

“Because I had a longtime customer with an enormous downed tree blocking his driveway.” He watched her devour the cookie. “I wanted to be there, to see you.”

“Oh.”

Warming to his grievance, he said, “And I would have liked to introduce you to Rebel, but instead you had Liam do it.”

Sounding grumpy, she said, “Liam doesn’t confuse me.”

“Callie.” With a touch to her stubborn chin, he turned her face toward him. “You were a grade school crush, then a high school fantasy. Having you here, right next door, threw me hard.”

“You wanted me to leave.”

“At first, because I thought that would be easier.” He slid his hand to her jaw, then let his thumb brush her downy cheek. Fortunately, she hadn’t hit her face in the fall. She could have broken her nose, or shattered a cheekbone. He braced himself against those disturbing thoughts. “Now I know different.”

“Now…you want me to stay?”

“The things I want with you…” It was difficult to put them into words. “Even though we didn’t see each other, I knew you were here.” Not back with Sutter. She hadn’t returned to her old, easier life.

If he told her that he hadn’t trusted in her convictions, her anger would return so instead he leaned in and kissed her. With his mouth lightly touching hers, he said, “I like having you here.”

She pressed closer, and the kiss she gave him was not that of a wounded woman. He accepted—he couldn’t have done anything else—but he didn’t let it get out of hand. Whether she realized it or not, she was badly hurt. For certain, she’d feel every ounce of pain tomorrow. Already in his mind, he had rearranged his schedule. Hell, he’d rearranged Addie’s and Kam’s, too.

The second she let up, he said, “Let us stay the night.”

“Us?” she breathed.

“Blu and me. I promise we won’t be in the way.” He practically held his breath…until she nodded.

“I’d like that.” She yawned. “For now, I think I’m ready to go to bed.”

Not surprisingly, his body had ideas that his brain knew weren’t possible. “I’ll take Blu out first. Do you need help into the bathroom?” The sooner they got done, the sooner he could hold her.

“Not in this lifetime.” She popped the last cookie into her mouth, and then let him take the tray and ice packs. “I’ll leave out a spare toothbrush for you if you want.”

“Thanks.” Tomorrow, he’d talk to her about bringing over a few things—and food for Blu. He wasn’t moving in on her, he told himself.

But he’d damn sure take advantage of the time she gave him.