Rose nodded and pushed up the sleeves of his jacket. She’d been cold earlier so he gave it to her to wear. “Of course. They never miss a class, unless they are sick, which, surprisingly doesn’t happen often.”
“And what’s this week’s class?” he asked, already knowing the answer because he’d helped Rose with the supplies she needed.
She gave him an odd look. “Remember, I’m doing a class on making flowers from old books and estate jewelry. I so appreciated you going with me to that yard sale and packing back the big box of books I bought.”
Tanner held up both arms and flexed the muscles in his biceps. “Happy to be of service.”
Rose reached out and felt one of the muscles, lifting an eyebrow. “Impressive. At least for a wimpy sailor.”
He jerked the plate out of her hand and set it on a nearby table. Before she knew what he was about, he pulled Rose onto his lap, tickling her mercilessly. She giggled and squirmed, feigning a desire to get away.
Tanner folded his arms around her and drew her against his chest, holding her close to his heart and breathing in her rose-laced scent. “Rose,” he rasped, overcome with a sudden flood of emotion. “How am I gonna leave tomorrow?”
Tears filled her eyes as she leaned back and looked at him. “How will I let you?” she asked, wrapping her arms around him and burying her face against his neck.
The sun finished its descent and night settled around them, yet they remained unmoving. The silence lingering between them spoke the volumes from their hearts mere words couldn’t adequately express.
Finally, Tanner kissed her temple and her cheek then pushed her back. “It’s getting late, beautiful.”
“I know,” she said, using the flat of her hands to swipe away the tears lingering on her cheeks. She stood and picked up their plates, carrying them inside the yurt.
When Tanner told her he was staying in a yurt just outside of town, she’d thought he was nuts, imagining a tent with an outhouse. The first time he’d brought her out to see it, she’d been thoroughly impressed. It was her idea of luxuriously roughing it.
She could see why Tanner liked staying there. Surrounded by the woods with the ocean a quick walk across the highway, it was a wonderful location. A few nights, they’d made use of the fire pit and grill.
The solar lights in the planters outside and lights strung along the eaves both inside and outside the yurt made it all seem romantic. For Rose, those evenings spent outside with Tanner had been magical and unforgettable.
Lost in her thoughts as she washed the dishes and set them in a drainer to dry, she jumped when Tanner slid his arms around her waist and pulled her back against his solid chest.
Oh, how she’d miss this, miss him. But he couldn’t stay. He had a life to return to, much as she’d return to hers once he left.
Maybe this was just one of those summer loves she read about in the romance novels she so often enjoyed. Even with her heart shattering at the idea of him leaving, Rose was glad Tanner came to Seaside. No matter what tomorrow brought, she was thankful for the time she’d spent with him the last month.
Shaking the water off her hands, she spun around and met his lips as they connected with hers in a fiery clash. Each kiss grew hungrier, more passionate, more desperate.
When Tanner lifted her up and started toward the big pine log bed, Rose summoned enough sense to lift her head and push against him. “Tanner, set me down. Please.”
He released a long breath and rested his head against her forehead. “I’m sorry, Rose. It’s just… I don’t want…” He buried his face in her fragrant hair and held her so tightly, she thought a rib might crack, but she didn’t care.
She wrapped her arms around him and held on, never wanting to let him go.
Finally, she sighed in resignation. “I know we kind of agreed to not talk about it, but I can’t let you leave without telling you the truth, Tanner.” She placed her hands on either side of his face, lifting his head so he looked at her.
He set her down on the counter and stood with his hands resting on her waist. “You don’t have to tell me anything, Rose. It’s okay.”
“No.” She kissed that little cleft in his chin she found so irresistible before raising her gaze to his again. “The night you saw me playing in the waves on the beach… when I turned around and saw you, you know what I felt?”
“Scared?” he asked, giving her a teasing grin. “It was dark. You were alone on the beach. And here was this sweaty, big guy staring at you, watching every move you made. It probably freaked you out.”
She smiled. “No, you dork. I felt safe. Like I’d just met an old, very dear friend.” He started to say something in response, but she placed a finger over his lips and continued. “The next morning when you came to my shop, I was admittedly a little scared. Not because I thought you were stalking me, but because it felt so right for you to be there. I love you, Tanner. It’s like something in my heart has known you forever and all the pieces, all the jagged edges and broken shards fall into the places they were always meant to be when I’m with you.”
“Rose,” he groaned in misery.
She rushed ahead. “I know you’re leaving tomorrow and you can’t stay, but I couldn’t let you go without saying it, Tanner. I love you with all my heart and then some. I hope whatever the future brings to you, whomever the future brings, you’ll be happy. The last month with you has been one of the happiest times I’ve had in my life. So thank you for that.”
“Rose,” he whispered in a rough, pained tone. “You’re killing me, sweetheart.” His hands bracketed her face as he kissed her gently, tenderly, reverently. “I love you, too. I wish things were different. I wish I could stay, but I have to go back to Colorado, to my life there.”
“I make a good living, Tanner. If you wanted to stay, we’d be okay. I’m sure you could find work here. Between the numerous historical sites, museums, and parks, there’s probably…”
He kissed her again. “Rose, sweet Rose, no. In the first place, I’d never mooch off anyone, especially not the woman I love. And I really do need to go back to Colorado. We both knew from the start I couldn’t stay. I’m not ready to give up my adventures, to settle down. Not yet.”
She pulled back from him, intently studying him with those gorgeous green eyes.
Just when Tanner thought he’d lose himself in them forever, she leaned further away and glared at him. “You’re married, aren’t you?”
Shocked, his eyes widened as he scoffed. “You’re crazy. Married? If I was married, why in the world do you think I’d be here with you? Really, Rose? You think I’m capable of having a wife and family back in Colorado while traveling out here to this funky little town to seduce a woman I’d never met. Seriously? What kind of creepy dude do you think I am?”
Affronted, he stepped back from her and brushed his hand over his face. He fed his anger and irritation and frustration, letting it block the heartfelt emotions that were about to bring him to his knees. If Rose had uttered one more sweet, loving word to him, he would have forgotten anything or anyone existed except her.
“Let’s get you home. I have to leave early to catch my flight in Portland.” His voice sounded cold and harsh to his ears as he handed her the purse she’d left sitting on the end of the bed and opened the door.
She snatched the purse from his hand and hurried out the door, walking straight to his SUV. Scrambling inside before he had the chance to help her, she watched as he put out the fire then slid behind the wheel.
Stony silence settled over them on the ride to her house. She knew accusing him of being married would make him angry, drive a wedge between them, but she had to do it. If she hadn’t, there was no possible way she could let him leave, at least not without her.
Her words had wounded him, but his anger would drive him all the way back to his home, where he belonged. Perhaps someday she’d look back on the time she spent with him this summer as a wonderful adventure. Right now, though, it seemed more like a heart-breaking m
istake.
Tanner parked in front of her house. Immediately, she opened the door and stepped down. He frowned at her as he walked around the rig and kept step with her as she made her way to the front door. She unlocked the door and pushed it open then turned back to look at him, steeling herself to bid him farewell.
“Have a happy life, Tanner. Truly, I’m glad you came to Seaside.”
He nodded and lifted his hand, skimming his knuckles across her cheek. Slowly, he bent down and pressed his lips to hers one last time in a soft, light kiss. “Goodbye, Rose.”
With that, he turned and left, taking along every little piece of her heart.
Chapter Nine
“Are you going to tell me what’s bothering you, son, or do I need to get your mother involved to hound you until you fess up?” Dave Thomas asked as he and Tanner sat on the deck on a crisp late September evening.
Tanner glanced over his shoulder, looking in the kitchen window to make sure his mother was still on the phone talking to her best friend. The two women could chat for hours even when they just spent the day together.
He glanced over at his dad then released a long sigh. “You know when you and Mom were in London this summer?”
“Yeah. It was a great trip. We’re hoping to go back again in April.” Dave took a sip from the glass of lemonade in his hand. “What about it?”
“Well, I um… I went away to meet a girl then.” At his father’s shocked expression, he tipped his head toward the kitchen. “Under no circumstances should Mom know this, but do you remember a couple summers back when she found that bottle on the beach in Florida?”
“I do recall that. You promised to consider getting in touch with the girl who wrote the letter. I assumed by that, you’d toss the bottle in the trash as soon as you got home.” Dave’s eyes widened and he leaned toward his son. “You contacted the girl? Did you really, Tanner?”
“Not then. Not when Mom gave me the bottle.” Tanner sighed again. “Back in June, I was cleaning out that storage closet in the hall and found the bottle. I set it in a donation box and every time I walked by that box, I felt this… I don’t know, Dad, like some magnetic pull to it. I even loaded all the boxes and drove to the donation center, but at the last second, I grabbed the bottle out of the box and took it home.”
Dave chuckled. “So what happened?”
“I realized I’d never get any peace until I contacted that girl, so I wrote her a brief email. We started corresponding and the more we did, the more I couldn’t get her off my mind. So I spent the entire month of August in a little town on the Oregon coast getting to know her.”
Dave slapped his leg and laughed. “You’re kidding me, son. You wouldn’t do something that crazy.”
Tanner glared at his dad. “I’m not joking, Dad. I took a month off work and flew to Portland, then rented a car and drove to the coast. She owns an antique store in Seaside. It was the first coastal resort town in Oregon and has some fantastic surfing. Among the many wonderful things I discovered was really good salt water taffy.”
“I don’t care about resorts or waves or candy! Tell me about this girl,” Dave commanded.
“Rose is…” Tanner raked his hands through his hair, heart aching with memories of every moment he spent with her. “She’s incredible, Dad. She’s unlike any girl I’ve ever met. Rose wears vintage outfits and teaches loony old women how to make crafts. She has a silver tabby cat named Tumnus and drives a convertible from the thirties.”
Dave grinned. “What else?”
“She’s beautiful.” Tanner took out his phone and showed his dad the photos he’d taken of Rose. Some she’d posed for, some he’d snapped when she wasn’t looking.
His father stopped at the photo of her in front of the Buick. “That is some car, and some girl, son.” Dave handed him back the phone. “If she’s in Seaside, what on earth are you doing here?”
Tanner shrugged. “I don’t know, Dad. I don’t know what I’m doing. Since I came back, everything seems different, pointless, and lonely.”
“You’ve got it bad, boy,” Dave said, thumping him on the shoulder. “Do you love her? Do you love Rose?”
Tanner nodded. “I do. I didn’t tell her I was coming. I wanted to surprise her and I also wanted to see the real her. She had no idea what I looked like. I hadn’t even told her my name up to that point. The first night I was there, I went for a run along the beach. It was awesome, so peaceful. I sat down to watch the sun set and dozed off. When I awoke, there was this woman in a long white dress walking in the waves along the shore. She almost didn’t seem real, more like something you’d dream.”
Dave grinned, eager to hear more. “Who was she?”
“Rose. I had no idea it was her because I didn’t know what she looked like either. But the moment I saw her, I was a goner.” Tanner smiled. “She turned around after she’d played in the waves and noticed me there. She looked so embarrassed to have been caught playing in the water, but she waved then ran back up the beach. The next day I went to Rose’s shop and walked inside. When she saw me, recognized me from the previous night, she dropped a tray of teacakes she was about to serve to the old women who take her craft class. In that moment, I knew I was in love.”
His father leaned back and took a long drink from his glass. “So, what are you going to do about it?”
“Nothing. Something?” He sighed. “I don’t know. There’s actually a position there that just opened up last week, as the director of a historical park. It’s work I would love and I’m more than qualified. I’ve done two video interviews for it, but…” Tanner got up and paced across the deck. “I just don’t know, Dad. We kind of left things at an awkward place. The last night I was there, she um… she told me she made a good living with her store and she could support me until I found a job in the area, if I wanted to stay.”
Dave’s eyebrows neared his receding hairline. “You didn’t tell her who you are, about the company or your money?”
“No, I didn’t. I wanted to see if she fell in love with me for who I am, not my net worth.”
“And did she?” Dave asked. “Did she fall in love with you?”
Tanner nodded. “She did. When I told her I couldn’t stay, she asked me if I was already married. I’ve since wondered if she asked that just to make me mad so I’d leave. But I did.”
“Did what, son?”
“Leave.” Tanner flopped down in the chair he’d vacated and held his head in his hands. “I didn’t want to leave her, but I grasped at that reason to go. It bothered me she asked something like that, after we spent a month getting to know each other pretty well. However, I latched onto any excuse to turn away from her. It was convenient.”
Dave studied him a moment before he spoke again. “Have you talked to this girl since you came back?”
“No,” Tanner said, in misery. He missed Rose with every breath he took. He missed her smile, the sound of her laughter, the way her curls danced around her face. Even now, the smell of roses from his mother’s flower garden tormented him, bringing Rose to mind.
“Are you still in love with her?”
Tanner nodded, unable to speak past the lump of emotion lodged in his throat. Why had he thought he could come home and return to his life with no problem? The month he spent with Rose altered everything and nothing would ever be the same. Nothing.
Dave remained silent for so long, Tanner finally leaned back and glared at his father. “Well, no words of wisdom?”
His father shook his head. “I don’t need to tell you what you already know, son. You only get one shot at true love and if you let it slip right through your fingers, that’s all on you. I didn’t raise you to be an idiot, so you’ll figure it all out.”
Tanner hoped his father was right.
Chapter Ten
“Am I doing this right, darling?” Lucille asked as she strung a bead on a silk cord and secured it around a tassel made of lace.
“Oh, that’s wonderful, Lucille.” Rose
patted the older woman on the shoulder and moved over to check on Zetta’s efforts.
Today’s craft class was to make bookmarks with tasseled lace ends. While Lucille’s perfectly mimicked the sample bookmark Rose had created, Zetta’s project looked more as if some sort of beast had shredded an old piece of lace.
Rather than say anything, Rose merely kissed Zetta’s plump cheek and made her way to the guests seated around the long table, offering each one an encouraging word.
After the class ended, Lucille and Zetta stayed to help Rose pick up the supplies. Once they were stored away, the two women followed her to the kitchen where she made a pot of spicy tea and pushed a plate of raspberry-filled thumbprint cookies across the table to Zetta.
The woman took three and set them on the saucer with her teacup before biting into a fourth.
Lucille frowned at her as she took one cookie and nibbled it. She dabbed her lips with a napkin then studied Rose. The girl absently stirred her tea although she hadn’t added any sugar to it. “Darling, still no word?” she asked, patting Rose’s hand.
Rose shook her head, staring into her teacup as she set aside the spoon. “No, nothing. Not that I expect him to get in touch.”
“But, honey, you love him, so much,” Zetta said, setting aside her cookie to comfort Rose. “It’s just not right that boy left you the way he did.”
“We both knew he was only here for a visit. That’s all. Nothing more.”
Zetta flapped her hand in the air, as though she could brush aside Rose’s words like a pesky gnat. “Fiddle faddle! You love Tanner and he loves you. If he doesn’t, I’ll confess the true color of my hair and give up sugar.”
Lucille laughed and waggled a finger at her friend. “The only reason you offer up such a great sacrifice is because you have no doubt about Tanner’s affection for our girl.” She turned back to Rose. “I just don’t understand why you haven’t heard from him.”
“We agreed it would be best, easier, to end things without drawing them out. We became friends, but it is so much more than that. Tanner was everything I ever dreamed of finding in a man. He’s funny and kind and gentle, yet rugged and handsome and strong. He’s great with kids and loony old ladies.” She smiled at the two women sitting on either side of her. “And even Tumnus liked him.”
Rose (Beach Brides Book 9) Page 9
