by Mysti Parker
Tyler’s eyes fluttered until they finally closed. Paige leaned over, kissed him on the forehead, and eased off the bed. Her eyes widened when she looked up to see Tanner there. Her gaze quickly roamed over his body.
He smiled. She was totally checking him out. Had she not come close to losing her kid and had his own shop not been vandalized, he’d have probably flexed and teased her about it. But now wasn’t the time. With both hands, she tucked some hair behind her ears and averted her eyes. Head down, she came toward him.
“I’m going to make some coffee,” she whispered. “Want some?”
“Sure. Thanks.” He stepped aside as she passed, and he followed her into the kitchen, which was also the shop’s kitchen. There was no living room to speak of.
She went to the coffeepot and busied herself with fixing a fresh pot. “Was the shower okay? Sometimes the hot water comes and goes.”
“It was fine.” Tanner scooted out a chair and sat, but he felt odd now, here in his ex-girlfriend's kitchen with just a towel around him and the possibility they shared a kid hanging between them. He should have sucked it up and waited in the bathroom until Linda brought his clothes.
Paige pulled two mugs from a cabinet and set them by the pot. The aroma of cheap coffee wafted up as the coffee maker sputtered and spit. She glanced at him over her shoulder and turned back quickly, her cheeks flushed.
“Linda should be back soon with your clothes,” she said.
“It’s not like you haven’t seen it before.”
She glanced at him again, this time with a little smile that told him she remembered what lay under that towel. “I, uh, I just wanted to say thank you for what you did today. If you hadn’t been there, I don’t know what would have happened.”
“You would have jumped in after him and got him yourself. I just kept you from getting wet. That's all.”
“No, you did more than that. The creek was way up, and it could have swept him away. You saved his life.”
Shrugging, Tanner picked up the salt shaker, which was sitting on a paper that had thirty-threes all over it in crayon. Weird. The kid had said “thirty-three” before Tanner pulled him from the creek, too.
Paige turned around and went very still, her eyes fixed on the paper. Tanner held it up.
“What’s with the thirty-threes?” he asked.
Arms crossed, she rested her back against the counter, her face shifting between a mix of emotions. “Have you been talking to Morgan or Mom? Did Garrett tell you about that?”
“About what?”
“About Ty’s recent fascination with thirty-three. He gets stuck on numbers and words sometimes for weeks on end. But this one was on your T-shirt—did you wear that on purpose?”
He ran a hand through his damp hair and dropped the paper on the table. She still thought he was up to no good. He guessed it was his fault, having been such an idiot back when they were younger.
Tanner shook his head. “No one said anything about numbers. In fact, no one told me anything about you having a kid. Do you think I’m that much of a dick, that I can’t be trusted to know the truth? Or that I’d wear a shirt with your kid’s favorite number on purpose? It's Scottie Pippen's number, one of my favorite NBA players growing up. Jordan had the spotlight and stats, but Pippen carried the team. Kind of like Garrett and me, I guess.”
Paige’s chin trembled. She turned back around. The coffee had just finished brewing. She picked up the pot and tried to fill one of the mugs, but her hand was shaking so much, more of it splattered around the cup than in it. As soon as she clumsily put the pot back on the warmer, her shoulders began to shake too.
Shit. Now he’d made her cry.
Tanner got up and went to her. He hesitated, just a few inches from her. Swallowing hard, he put his hands on her shoulders. She trembled harder, sniffing back tears.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I don’t know what to think anymore.”
“No, I’m sorry.” He blinked wetness from his own eyes. Seeing Paige like this squeezed his chest until it hurt. “I’ve been an asshole. Especially back then. I was stupid to hurt you like that. I had it good with you and was too much of an idiot to see it. But Paige, honey, I have to know—is Tyler mine?”
She buried her face in her hands, sobbing. That, he couldn’t handle. He turned her gently around and held her against his chest. Caressing her back with one hand and stroking her hair with the other, he closed his eyes and tried to burn the memory of her in his arms into his mind. He’d thought about holding her many times since they’d broken up, but not like this. He hoped she wouldn’t think he was taking advantage of her when she was vulnerable. It killed him to see her in so much pain.
Her shoulders stopped shaking, and she uncovered her face, wrapping her arms around his waist. But she stayed there, her wet cheek pressed against his chest.
“I don’t know, Tanner."
"So, he could be someone else's?"
"Yes."
"Do we need to go on Maury? How many are we talking about here? I saw one lady who tried nine times to find her kid's daddy and never did."
"It's not funny." She pulled away, resting her back on the counter, her gaze fixed firmly on the floor and away from him. "I've only been with you and one other guy. His name was Vic. He came to town the day you left for the Air Force. He promised me things that I thought I'd have with you. A house, a family, the chance to go to college. I was so stupid to believe all that. He took off as quickly as he'd arrived, and I had no clue where he went. Next thing I know, I'm pregnant. I was afraid he'd find out and take Ty away from me somehow, so I never tracked him down to ask for a paternity test. And now he's in prison. He's not exactly father material."
"But why didn't you call me? I have a right to know if he could be mine. And you know what? I wouldn't have left you to raise him alone."
"I know that now."
"I'm not sure you do."
"I'm sorry. I should have told you. It's just...I guess I was too afraid to find out who fathered him. Vic's a criminal, and I hated you for so long, but now…”
“Now, what?” He lifted her chin until she had to look at him. Her glistening eyes searched his. “I can’t control the way you feel about me, and I can’t change the past. But I can tell you there’s not a day that’s gone by that I haven’t thought about you. You can hate me all you want, but I can never hate you, Paige Baxter, not in a million years.”
A tear rolled from her eye, and he wiped it away. She caught his hand and nestled her cheek in his palm. Before he could say anything else, she pulled his head down and pressed her lips to his. He didn’t respond at first, didn’t even know if he should. This was unchartered territory, a battle he’d never planned for—was he supposed to fight his feelings for her and retreat or surrender to the moment?
Paige wrapped both arms around his neck. Her lips urged his to part, to accept what she offered. Tanner let out the breath he’d been holding, drew her tightly against him, and surrendered to her kiss. She felt so warm against him, smelled and tasted exactly as he’d remembered. His hand slid down and gripped her butt. Her body had changed, but for the better—she was curvier, firmer than she’d been at eighteen. He squeezed her ass. She let out a quiet moan against his mouth as her kiss grew more fervent. Her tongue flicked and danced across his.
Excitement built in his core. His erection tented the towel and pressed into Paige’s hips. He remembered exactly what being inside her had felt like, and he was eager to discover how it had changed. They were both a little older now with a lot more experience than they had back then, when they had fumbled with each other’s clothes and tried out awkward positions in the back of Paige’s car.
He shifted his weight from one foot to the other. That small movement loosened the towel. It slid to the floor and onto his bare feet. Paige broke from their kiss. Her eyes immediately drifted downward and widened, along with her smile. He almost thought she was going to laugh—talk about every man's worst nightmare in
a moment like this. But she didn’t. Her hand slid down his chest. He froze, holding his breath. Surely, she wouldn’t…
Paige’s hand found his length, skimmed over it almost reverently, as though she needed to reacquaint herself with him. Her fingers closed around him. Tanner shut his eyes and groaned. She stroked him slowly, pausing at the head with a gentle squeeze before stroking again, finding a rhythm that made him slowly rock his hips to meet every move.
What were they doing? He couldn’t let this go on, though every cell in his body screamed for it. With a trembling hand, Tanner captured her wrist.
“Paige,” he whispered. The room spun. He rested his forehead against hers so he could stay upright. “We can’t. Not here. Tyler might wake up.”
She went still for a moment, then nodded. Her grip loosened, and she let him go. Though he ached and needed a release more than he needed to breathe right then, he bent and picked up the towel. He wrapped it tourniquet-tight around his waist. If it cut off his circulation, that was probably a good thing. He sure as hell didn’t need any more blood flow in that area right now.
Paige stepped aside and turned her back on him. She held to the counter with one hand. “I’m sorry, I…”
“No. Don’t be sorry. I’m not.” He wrapped his arms around her from behind, resting his head on her shoulder. “If I’m guessing right, it’s probably been a long time.”
She took a deep breath and exhaled with a whispered, “Yes.”
“I just want to make sure you won’t regret it. Today’s been hell for you, and I don’t want to make it any worse.”
A knock sounded from the back door. Paige turned to face him, searched his face again as though trying to decide if he meant what he’d said. Then she kissed him gently and whispered, “Thank you.”
She went to the door while he retreated to the bathroom. A few seconds later, he heard Linda’s muffled voice through the closed door. “Hey, I have your clothes. Open up.”
Tanner cracked open the door, and Linda pushed a grocery bag with clothes at him. He took it, then noticed the dubious frown on her face.
“What?” he asked.
“What have you two been doing?” she whispered. “Paige is all flushed, and you look really guilty. Please tell me you didn’t…”
“I didn’t. She did.”
“What?” She shrieked.
“Keep your voice down, and no, it didn’t go that far, okay? Look, I’m having a really shitty day, so stay off my case.”
“Geez, sorry. Did something else happen?”
“Yeah, my Jeep was vandalized at the shop.”
“Oh my God, seriously?”
“Yeah, seriously. Oh, and there's the issue of you and everyone else keeping shit from me."
"What?" She blinked then her eyes went wide before she swallowed. She looked over her shoulder before coming closer and lowering her voice to a whisper. "Look, we didn't—we thought you'd be upset knowing she'd had another guy's kid."
"Well, that's the problem. She actually doesn't know who his father is."
"No way!"
"Yes, way. Never mind right now. I’ll get dressed. Can you give me a ride over to the shop? I can only deal with one crisis at a time.”
“Of course. Does Garrett know about the Jeep?”
“Yeah, he was there.”
Linda opened her mouth like she was about to shriek again, but Tanner shook his head and put a finger to his lips.
“Quiet, the kid’s asleep. And I don’t want to worry her any more than she already is, okay?”
“Okay. Get dressed.”
He shut the door and dressed, breathing deeply, trying to get the bulge in his jeans to go down. He had to think of something unsexy. Ah, yes—Donald Trump dancing naked. Yep, that did it. Everything shrank to neutral, and he even had a full-body shudder over that one. He couldn’t think about something that disgusting again, or he might wind up impotent.
When he came out of the bathroom, Paige met him at the door, looking even more worried than before. She had her purse slung over her shoulder. “God, Tanner, why didn’t you tell me someone vandalized your Jeep?”
He glared at Linda, who gave an apologetic smile. “It wasn’t me. Morgan called her.”
“I’ll drive you,” Paige said. “Let’s go.”
"Are you sure? I can take him over there," Linda insisted.
This was like watching a ping-pong game. He held up his hands to halt the back and forth. “What about Tyler? Will he get upset if he wakes up and you’re not here, Paige?”
“I can watch him,” Linda said. “He’s really comfortable around me. I think it’s because he loves playing games on my iPad.”
“What about Clara?” he asked, trying to communicate to Linda with his eyes that he didn’t want Paige to have to deal with any more crap today.
Linda waved his question away. “Mom’s got her. They’re watching Frozen for the five hundredth time.”
Paige put her hand on his chest. “Hey, stop worrying about me. Let’s go. Morgan sounded pretty upset.”
“Fine. Let’s go. But I’ll drive.”
He reached for the keys, but she yanked them back.
“Oh hell no. It may look like a piece of crap, but nobody drives my GSX but me. Now get your ass moving.” Paige gave Linda a quick hug, hurried past him, and went out the back door.
He gave Linda a pointed look.
She shrugged. “Hey, she may have had it rough these past few years, but don’t let her fool you. She’s a lot tougher than she seems.”
Tanner glanced at the door and then back at Linda with a smile. “I believe you.” He hugged her and gave her a peck on the forehead before he headed toward the door. “Thanks, sis. I owe you some babysitting.”
“I’ll take you up on that. Call me, and let me know what’s going on, okay?”
“You got it.”
Chapter Thirteen
Morgan thought she’d seen some odd things today, but watching Paige pull up to Mann Cakes with Tanner—in the same car, no less—topped them all. She met them on the sidewalk. Tanner went straight to the flattened tire, his face getting redder the longer he looked at it.
“Son of a bitch!” he screamed, kicking the deflated rubber.
Morgan winced. Hopefully he wouldn't do the same to Garrett.
“This is bad. Were you guys here when it happened?” Paige asked.
“Yeah. Garrett surprised me with a wonderful lunch. We were…talking…when the car alarm went off.”
Paige nudged her. “Yeah, talking. Sure.”
Morgan leaned close and whispered, “Hey, can you blame me? We didn’t get very far though. The knife in the tire interrupted us.”
“Welcome to my world,” Paige huffed. She glanced at Tanner with a hint of a smile.
“Oh my God, did you and Tanner...?”
Paige shook her head. “Not really; it's complicated. He saved Ty this morning.”
Morgan’s jaw dropped. “What?”
“I’ll tell you about it soon.”
Tanner stalked to the shop and almost pulled the door off the hinges. “Garrett! What the hell?”
The door squealed shut.
“Think we should go in and rescue poor Garrett?” Morgan asked.
Paige shook her head. “Not yet. Let them hash it out for a minute. Tanner needs to let off some steam."
"Tell me what happened with Tyler. Is he okay?”
“He is now. We were at the park this morning, and a couple of girls were mean to him. Get this—they were Lisa's nieces, and she was there with them."
"No way! You mean the Lisa?"
"Yep. So, then Ty ran away, and I lost him.” Fear washed across her face, ripping the color from her cheeks. “Tanner was there walking with Linda and Clara. They helped me look for Ty. We found him at the creek. He had slipped and was hanging from a branch.”
Morgan covered her mouth. “Poor Ty. He must have been terrified.”
“He was, but Tanner climbed down
and got him. It was…” Paige took a deep breath, blinking up at the cloudy sky before she could go on. “Morgan, it’s the weirdest thing. Tanner was wearing a Chicago Bulls T-shirt at the time, and it had the number thirty-three on it.”
It took a moment for Morgan to make the connection, but then she remembered. Ty had been saying and drawing thirty-three for weeks now.
She grabbed Paige’s arm with both hands. “It’s a sign. It’s got to be. Or did Garrett tell him about that?”
Paige shook her head. “He said he had no idea.”
“Do you believe him?”
“I want to.” She let out a weary breath. “I’m so confused. I thought I hated him. But he saved Ty.” She glanced toward the door, then lowered her voice to a whisper. “He came back with us to our place because he said he didn’t want me to be alone. He showered, and Linda went to get him a change of clothes. Then he came out in a towel, and we talked, and…we came really close to, you know, but he stopped it. He said he didn’t want me to regret anything.”
Morgan had to let all that sink in for a second. Then she placed her hand on Paige’s cheek. “I think he still loves you.”
“I don't know. Maybe he just felt guilty from when we broke up.” She squatted to look at the knife in the tire. "Who could've done this?"
Morgan squatted beside her. “Who knows? Every red-blooded man in Beach Pointe owns at least a dozen knives and guns." She didn't mention the gun she carried in her purse. Paige didn't know about it, and didn't need to. She had other things to worry about, like realizing she deserved to be loved. "Paige, it's okay to let yourself love somebody again. The way Tanner looks at you—I know he still loves you. And I think you’re still in love with him.”
Paige shot to her feet. “Oh please, you’re head over heels for Garrett and think the whole world feels like you do. It doesn’t work that way. Men will say whatever it takes to get you to fall for them, then get you in bed, and then they get tired of you.”
“Excuse me? Yes, I do love Garrett. I’m not afraid to admit it, because I’m not afraid of love. I have no idea whether we’ll have a happily ever after. Life happens. But you can’t just stop living it because you’re afraid of getting hurt. That’s not living at all.”
