“Yeah…” Tanner swallowed hard. “Yeah, Tom, that’s them…” He managed to brace his feet in place when he saw Vianne push off the ground and launch herself at a fast clip across the grass and into his open arms. “Oh, god, baby!”
Vianne knew she was crying. She could vaguely hear Erika talking and crying at the same time. She didn’t care. She just didn’t care! Tanner had her against him and that’s where she wanted to be. She heard police around them, the soft humming in her head telling her Tanner was talking to someone. She heard Erika give someone her phone then remembered she’d had it on record like she always did in the middle of something important and annoying. The last several hours definitely qualified for both.
Tanner never felt his muscles tire. He held her against him, her feet dangling and his arms wrapped tightly around her waist. Her face was buried in the crook between his throat and shoulder. A shudder raced through her each time she drew in a breath and her hands were cold against the back of his neck.
“You have to talk to them, Vianne,” Tanner reluctantly pulled her away from him, bending to set her on the ground and meet the wide hazel eyes. “They might have had a chance. Now the whole story is coming out and you’re going to give it up to the station as your parting gift.”
“They’re here?” Vianne took a deep breath and looked around, her gaze landing on Erika cuddled safely against Zee. “I have to talk to Erika first, Tanner. The company…this is too big a decision…”
He nodded and walked her over to the other couple. He left her to talk with Erika and Zee, wandering over to his friends on the police force and watching the clean-up. Neil and Valerie Vincent were being escorted from the listing yacht, both grim faced and pale. Across the lawn, he saw Adam Wayne being led to a waiting police car and was surprised that Ross Richardson was nowhere to be seen.
“I don’t know what to do, Erika,” Vianne put both hands up, ten fingers raking back the short blond curls streaked with dust. She definitely wanted a long, long shower.
“If I wasn’t involved, what would you do?” Erika leaned against Zee, the secure warmth of his arms erasing the craziness of the last few hours.
“You know what I’d do. It would be broke all over the place,” Vianne paced in short, slipped strides. “But the company…the people…we talked about that…”
“I can run it until you find someone else,” Zee said calmly, the two sets of wide eyes blinking at him making him laugh. “What? The shop will manage without me for a few weeks. You don’t want to close Vincent Technologies, you just want it to be run ethically. I’ll do a thorough personnel review and see if anyone is qualified to run it. You go to the board and convince them we can weather this and move forward.”
“You make it sound simple,” Erika swallowed and looked at Vianne. “You have to let the story out, Vi…I don’t care about the political fallout. I need to get hold of the security people and make sure anything Adam has with the company is locked down and frozen so he doesn’t have access to anything corporate.”
“I can help Zee with it, Erika,” Tanner came striding over from his conversation with the various police now swarming over the grounds. “You can be a pharmacist and Vianne can start at the resort. I can split my time with Zee and help see the company through this mess. Just get me the names of the board members and I’ll take it from there. I might also know a person or two that would be very good at the head of the business.”
Vianne stared at him. She could still see the altruistic seventeen year old in his eyes, especially when he was playful. But that young man had grown a lot and was now her husband. Strong and confident and still altruistic.
She never had a chance against him once he’d made up his mind, she realized with a smile at him.
“Then I guess I break the story,” Vianne said firmly, straightening her shoulders and nodding slowly. “I’d better go talk to Clarice…since she’s over there trying to get information,” Vianne went to her toes and kissed him soundly. “I am so crazy in love with you, Tanner Clayton.”
“The feeling’s mutual, Mrs. Vianne Clayton,” he winked and patted her on the behind. “Go give your parting exclusive to the station. I’ll hang around and watch, then we can go home.”
Vianne was mentally preparing herself for the story even though the other part of her was on the drive home with her husband. And the new life they were beginning. Another long, happy story, she thought, her smile bright as she greeted the younger reporter with a raised hand and crooked finger.
One last story…or maybe one in a long line of many.
WindSwept Narrows: #22 Erika & Vianne Page 38
