by Lane, Aubree
Cara pushed through the door of one of her favorite Tahoe City restaurants, Jake’s on the Lake. She quickly waved off the hostess by pointing towards the outdoor dining area indicating she was meeting someone. Leah was sitting on the deck, which overlooked their beautiful sapphire lake. The cumulonimbus clouds over the mountains were billowing up high in the sky. It was a warm day. As the heated air was forced up the side of the mountain, Cara knew the cooler air would sink. She could feel the unstable air mass forming and was certain they were in for a late afternoon thunderstorm or two.
As Cara drew closer, she put on her game face. She had known Leah too long to successfully hide something as monumental as her growing infatuation with Tanner. No one ever had to guess what Cara was thinking. Her face was an open book, and in this gambling town she had never been able to bluff or fake her way out of anything.
“Hey girl!” Cara hailed as she rounded Leah’s chair and pulled her in for a quick hug. She hid her face in Leah’s shoulder and inhaled the scent of sweet peach blossoms in the waves of Leah’s chestnut hair. She kept her sunglasses on to hide the sparkle in her eye and to hopefully prolong the inevitable conversation about Tanner.
Leah handed Cara a mimosa in celebration. “Congratulations, single sister!” She tipped her own glass in salute. “To Greene-r pastures, my friend.”
Cara giggled. This moment had been a long time coming. She tinked their glasses together and gave a happy cheer, “Go Greene!” Cara brought the glass to her lips and let every last drop of the sweet sparkling wine and tangy orange juice slide down her throat.
Leah studied her face intently. She cocked her head to the side and narrowed her gaze. “So, how does it feel, Ms. Greene?”
Cara could not stop the devilish curl on her lips.
Leah shook her head. “Okay! Spill it! What’s going on? Take off those shades and start talking.”
“What?” Cara protested. “I’m just happy because my divorce is final.” Cara knew she was busted. They had been friends too long to have secrets. Cara’s body felt like she had just unloaded about five years of burdensome baggage and she could not stop smiling.
“Cara! Tell me!” Leah demanded.
Needing just a bit more liquid courage before she dished out the details, Cara reached out and relieved Leah of her untouched mimosa. “Well,” she began, “I have a date tonight.”
That was all Cara was able to get out before Leah jumped in. “What? Who? Your divorce was just finalized. Is it the judge? The court reporter? I know it’s not your lawyer, he’s as old as your dad!” Leah tilted her head and shot her a sheepish grin. “The bailiff and his handcuffs could be fun.” She grabbed Cara’s hands and shook them excitedly. “Who? I can’t believe this. The ink hasn’t even dried on your signatures! I want details, all of them. Talk!”
Cara smiled shyly and played with the stem of her glass. She wanted to torture her friend by giving out as few details as possible, but it all came tumbling out in rapid succession. “He’s a little hard to figure out, but I can’t stop thinking about him. I feel like I’m back in college. I get so excited when I see him. I even get a little jealous when he talks to other women. I’ve only known him for a short time, but there’s something about him. This gorgeous man is distracting in a big way.”
Leah held up her hand. “Slow down. Does this distraction have a name?”
Cara drew in a breath and blew out the crowning clue with an airy sigh, “You went to high school with him.”
Leah’s face froze and her eyes went wide with surprise. “Tanner Reed?” Leah’s head shook in the negative. “Are you serious?”
A perplexing frown crossed Cara’s brow. Leah didn’t sound happy. “Yes, Tanner James Reed, my tool-man. Why?”
“Your tool-man?” Leah instantly waved off her question. “Never mind, I don’t want to know. You remember I told you he was a widower, don’t you?”
Leah’s voice trailed off and Cara felt a growing sense of unease. “What are you trying to say?”
Leah bit her lower lip and filled her in. “It was awful. It made all the news. Kate was killed in a single car accident out on the highway towards Truckee. She hit some black ice. Her car went off the road and hit a tree. None of us have seen much of Tanner since.” Leah leaned back in her chair and crunched down on a breadstick and waited for Cara to respond.
Cara didn’t know what to do with this new information. She had known he was a widower, but hadn’t really considered the fact that he used to love another woman. “That’s so sad about his wife.”
Leah shook off the doom and gloom and called for the server. “Don’t be! That man is beautiful! I had a huge crush on him back in high school. Drink up and tell me more about the time you’ve spent with tall, dark, and handsome.”
Cara took another sip of the mimosa. “There’s not much to tell. Our first date is tonight.”
The waiter came over and the ladies ordered another round along with the Tuesday special, spinach and strawberry salad.
Cara looked at Leah across the table and for the first time in years had no idea what her friend was thinking. “Are you going to just sit there? Why are you so quiet?”
“I’m being totally serious when I say this. Cara, please be careful.” Leah took a deep breath and exhaled cautiously. “You look happy and I don’t want to rain on your parade. I’m glad you’re getting out in the world, but Tanner is nothing like Duncan.” Leah reached across the table and grasped Cara’s hand. “He’s a thoughtful kind of guy. Don’t rush things. I would really like you to be my single gal-pal for a while, okay?”
Cara understood where her friend was coming from, but like the persistent updraft of the warm moist air flowing up the mountain side and threatened their afternoon sunshine, Cara’s divorce day parade had been called due to the rain of Leah’s concern.
“I know I stayed with Duncan for far too long.” Cara reached across the table and patted Leah’s hand. “Don’t worry about me. I’m not looking for another serious relationship, but I feel a pull where Tanner is concerned, and I need to make sure it’s not just in my panties. He may just be a flash-in-the-pan, but then again, he might not.” Cara implored her friend to understand. “I want to hang around and find out.”
Leah scrunched her mouth and nodded. When she spoke, her voice was warm but serious. “Cara, you deserve everything life has to offer. I just worry that this is a fragile time for you and Tanner. All I’m asking is that you handle yourself with care.”
Cara didn’t always get this side of Leah. She was the lighthearted one in their friendship. Cara agreed, her self-esteem couldn’t take another beating like the one it suffered being with Duncan, but she didn’t want to be afraid to live. She refused to let Duncan harden her heart. Leah didn’t have anything to worry about, it wasn’t likely she and Tanner would be using the ‘L’ word or making wedding plans anytime in the near future.
Registering Leah’s concern, Cara tried to reassure her friend. “I promise to be careful. Don’t worry, we’ll be single gal-pals for quite a while, unless you decide to hook up with someone special.” She ran her hands through her hair as she struggled to find the words to make Leah understand. “I feel absolutely amazing right now, mostly because Duncan is out of my life, but also because of this new thing with Tanner. I feel more in control than I have in years.”
The waiter brought their salads and Cara decided to change the subject. “The dress you made me for the gala was a huge success. I dropped your name to every woman who complimented it. I think I might have hustled you up a few more customers.”
A catty grin formed on Leah’s lips. “I left kind of early hoping to hook up with...” She waved a dismissing hand in the air. “I left early,” she restated herself. “Did Barbie Blackjack show up in that bare-assed, blue-beaded disaster?”
Cara laughed out loud, but let Leah’s near slip go. She suspected a relationship was brewing between her two best friends. Brett Boden’s eyes always seemed to light up just a lit
tle bit brighter when Leah walked into the room, but for some reason they were keeping their liaison to themselves. She decided to let them have their little secret and said, “Can you believe I ended up comforting that Blackjack bitch in the bathroom after Duncan’s death glare shot her down?”
Leah raised her hand and ordered a couple more mimosas. “This is one story I have to hear.”
Chapter Three
Tanner and Cara raced through the parking lot towards Rookies Bar and Grill, trying to avoid the fat rain drops dropping out of the gloomy sky. The dark clouds had snuffed out the sun and made it appear much later than it was. The booming thunder was so close they could feel the sound waves reverberating through their bodies. Cracks of lightning lit up the sky, and Tanner was thankful for the downpour. The last thing the Tahoe Basin needed was a forest fire sparked by dry lightning strikes.
As a younger man, Tanner had trained to help fight the local fires. It was hot, dirty work and after a couple of summers he quit. Occasionally, when resources were strapped and his services were needed, Tanner would be called upon to help organize a crew or two, but he was no longer expected to hit the front lines. Protecting their community and forest lands was important work, and although it left him sleep deprived and exhausted, Tanner continued to do his part whenever necessary.
He pulled open the door of Rookies and let Cara enter ahead of him. It was his favorite first date location. The place offered a barrage of gigantic flat screen TVs. No matter what your sporting preference, the game would be readily available. The food was better than most sport bars, and if you needed to stretch your legs and get away from the game for a while, there was a pool table and darts in the back.
It was a place where you could talk, watch, or play. It didn’t put on airs, and it made you feel comfortable enough to be yourself. More importantly, it was a place he and Kate had not patronized. The last thing he needed was to slip into that sinkhole of depression while getting to know this new woman who had completely captured his attention.
Tanner watched Cara closely at the gala. To be more precise, he hadn’t been able to take his eyes off the long lean woman, who was decked out in the most amazing dress he had ever seen.
With his eyes on the gracious and glorious Cara Lee, he had taken them off of his little sister. Thankfully, Cara had the foresight to bring Erin back into view.
All Erin could talk about on the ride home was the delectable Duncan Alexander and how suave and sophisticated he was. His baby sister had been all gush and mush over the man until Tanner reminded her that he was also married and had the reputation of a hound dog.
Out of respect for her older brother, Erin curbed her exuberant description of the man, but Tanner knew he had not been able to sway her opinion of him. He hadn’t wanted to spoil the rest of their time together so he let it go. But as soon as Erin left to go back to Los Angeles and the confines of the UCLA campus, Tanner forwarded multiple articles reporting Duncan Alexander’s exploits with the ladies.
To date, Erin had not responded, and Tanner could smell nothing but trouble brewing on that front.
Erin had been his responsibility since their mother’s death. The transition from father figure to mere brother had been a tough one. It had been so much easier when Kate was alive. The two women got each other, and when Tanner’s natural overprotective nature began to rear its ugly head, Kate would be there to gently reel him back in.
Tanner and Erin had faced much loss. Their father, a police officer in the Oakland Hills of California, had been killed in the line of duty. A short time later, their mother brought them to the Tahoe area to rebuild their life, then ended up dying of breast cancer only two years later. He and Erin lived with their Aunt Meg until Tanner and Kate married a few weeks out of college.
The day after he and Kate returned from their honeymoon on the Monterey Peninsula, Erin ditched their loving Aunt Meg and moved in with the newlyweds. Despite all the apparent hardships, both Tanner and his young wife were happy, even with a pesky little sister in tow.
Erin planned on going to college just down the road at the University of Tahoe City, where Cara now worked, but with Kate’s passing she changed her mind and applied to UCLA. Tanner understood why Erin felt she had to go, without Kate to run interference, he would have more than likely smothered her to death.
“Hey, Professor Greene,” a young man called out when Cara approached the table where he sat with a group of friends. “How’s LOLA?”
Cara reached out and clasped the kid’s outstretched hand. “Almost ready for her first day of summer school.” She wagged a motherly finger at the pitcher of beer sitting in the middle of the red laminate table. “I know for a fact that you are not of age, Matt, so be very careful. Do not drink and drive.”
A waitress with curly black hair and a vivacious smile walked up behind them. “Don’t worry, Professor. I have my eye on him. If any of these boneheads try and give him any alcohol, I’ll ban them all.”
“Jena! It’s so nice to see you!” The two women gave each other a quick friendly hug. “When did you start working here?”
“Almost three months ago. How about you? What have you been up to?”
Cara laughed boisterously. “Aren’t you sweet, pretending my personal life hasn’t been the talk of the town. I’m sure Duncan’s been in here stirring up all kinds of mischief, but we are now officially divorced, and he is no longer any concern of mine.” Cara turned the waitress around and hugged Tanner’s arm, “I’m here on a date, so stick us in your section, give us your best service, and I’ll make sure your tip reflects it.”
Jena escorted them to a table near the back and placed a couple of menus in front of them. “Take your time. I’ll be back in a few minutes. Would you like something from the bar?”
Cara glanced up at Tanner. “Is a pitcher of beer okay with you?”
Tanner nodded.
Her gaze shifted back to the waitress. “We’ll have a pitcher of Blue Moon with some orange slices on the side please.”
Jena nodded and walked off. Tanner leaned comfortably back into his seat with a quizzical smile on his face. “So, Professor Greene, you have a little girl who’s getting ready for summer school. We really don’t know each other very well. Somehow that little tidbit about you having a kid didn’t make it into all the papers.”
Cara cocked her head and bit her lower lip. Her tool-man thought the University’s research vessel was her child. She studied Tanner’s face. A giggle tried to bubble out, but she swallowed it back down. She couldn’t resist the opportunity to tease him, especially after he failed to mention that the girl on his arm at the gala was his sister. Cara didn’t know how long she’d be able to pull it off, but she decided to run with it.
Smiling like a proud momma, Cara said, “LOLA’s my baby. I dreamed of having her for so long. Now that she’s actually here, I can’t imagine my life without her.”
Jena walked behind Tanner just in time to hear Cara’s proclamation. She stopped and stared at Cara with shocked eyes. Being with Cara aboard LOLA the past two years and having been recruited as Cara’s teaching assistant this past fall, Jena knew full well what LOLA was.
When Tanner nodded and began to scratch his scruffy cheek nervously, the waitress’s mouth opened wide and she began making exaggerated OMG faces behind Tanner’s back.
Cara almost burst out laughing. Between Jena’s funny faces and Tanner’s intense, wondering what he was getting himself into expression, she was finding it hard to keep a straight face. Deciding to push it just a little bit farther she said, “I actually have to check in on her later this week. Would you like to meet her?”
To his credit Tanner didn’t miss a beat. He reached across the table and took her hand in his. “I couldn’t think of anything I’d like better.”
Dinner and darts couldn’t have been more fun and relaxed. After they dropped the conversation about LOLA and with a few beers under their belt, they began talking with ease, and it felt as if they had
known each other for years. Tanner was subtle with his flirting, but never held back when it came to being a gentleman. The moment Cara began to rise from the table, Tanner was at her side to pull her chair out for her.
His blue eyes appeared a couple of shades darker this evening and Cara wanted to kiss him. She held back and teased, “I had fun, even though I’m pretty sure you cheated at darts.”
Tanner chuckled, “You should never bet unless you’re certain of the outcome.”
It had been a bet Cara didn’t mind losing. The winner was in charge of providing dessert. Cara was even prepared to leave whatever he meant by dessert up for interpretation. Anything sweet coming from Tanner would be perfectly acceptable.
On the way out she said goodbye to her teacher’s assistant, who was currently moonlighting as a waitress at Rookies.
Jena shook her head and pulled Cara a few steps away from her handsome date. “Be careful, Professor. You need to put the poor guy out of his misery. Tell him LOLA’s a boat. You’ve been out of the dating game a long time. He’s hot and I’d hate to see you mess up a good thing.”
Cara glanced over at Tanner. He didn’t seem distressed. He had let the conversation about her daughter drop without any fanfare. LOLA was not a secret. There had been a state-wide media blitz announcing her acquisition, and many articles were written about their discoveries. Cara had to wonder if he was the one stringing her along, instead of the other way around. “Don’t worry, Jena. I’m pretty sure he has a great sense of humor.” She leaned in a little closer and whispered, “And it wouldn’t surprise me if I end up being on the horse’s end of this joke.”
Jena gave her a half smile and rolled her eyes. “I still think you should come clean,” she reiterated before walking away.
If she was able to pull it off, Cara wondered if Tanner would laugh just as hard at himself as he had when she thought he had been asking her to do a three-way with his sister.
