Another noise from outside gave her a start. This time it was a loud thump. Rip jumped up on her bed again, but this time, instead of staring at the window, he pricked his ears and looked at the east wall, which divided her room off from the front of the house.
“What was that?” Her skin felt like she was being turned inside out.
The dog nudged her arm with his cold nose. Then he sat erect and whined. Crystal’s body jerked when a heavy knock came at the front door. Who would be showing up here this late at night? It was half past ten.
She slipped out of bed, grabbed a cotton kimono she used as a cover-up, and crept from the bedroom. Rip leaped down to flank her left leg. She felt his warm fur grazing her calf.
“Who is it?” she yelled.
“It’s me, Tanner.”
Crystal knew that voice, deep yet silky. Last night she’d felt the vibration of it in his chest as she lay in his arms. She threw the door open. The porch light bathed him in gold, making his honey-colored streaks shimmer. She looked into his eyes and could barely restrain herself from seeking the safety of his embrace. Rip gave a happy bark.
“I’ve never been so glad to see anyone in my whole life!” she cried. And then she followed her instincts, pressing her body against his and hugging his neck. “Oh, Tanner.”
“Hey? What’s wrong?”
“The Lingerie Burglar was inside the house when you brought me home!”
“The what?” He released her and bent to pet Rip, who bounced excitedly at his feet. “The who?”
“That’s what they call him. At first he was only a Peeping Tom, but he escalated to burglary. He rifled through my underwear drawers, stole some of my lingerie, and left a disgusting calling card on my sheets! And everyone at the sheriff’s department thinks he may have raped and strangled a woman in Medford.”
“Dear Lord.” Tanner looped his arms around her waist again. “Why in the world didn’t you call me?”
“I knew you had the kids. They couldn’t be here with all that going on.”
He pushed the door closed, engaged the dead bolt, and led her to the sofa. “I’m glad I came. You shouldn’t be alone, not tonight of all nights.”
When he sat beside Crystal on the sofa, she leaned against him, feeling absolutely safe for the first time since she’d found the front door ajar. Then, seeing Rip sitting near his outstretched legs, she felt a stab of guilt. The heeler had made her feel safe, too, and if he could read her mind, she didn’t want him to be offended. She felt as if she were falling in love with two different guys simultaneously, only one of them had four legs.
“Rip protected me through all of it. Didn’t you, Rip?”
“Good job, Rip!” Taking Crystal with him, Tanner leaned sideways to ruffle the canine’s fur. “No, awesome job, man. I’m so proud of you.” Then to Crystal, he said, “Tell me everything. I’m dying to know why the rolling pin is on the bar. Did you make a pie while all that was happening?”
Crystal giggled. It sounded a little hysterical, even to her. “No. That was my weapon.”
“Dear God.”
“I’m so glad you came back. Why? Did you sense that I needed you?”
“Um, I wish I could say yes. But the truth is— Well, remember that air-kiss I gave you as I left? My mom got home early, and I wanted to come back to give you a real one that would knock your socks off.”
Crystal couldn’t think of anything she needed more right then. “I’m not wearing socks, but I can pretend. Please, kiss me and knock them off.”
Chapter Fifteen
Crystal couldn’t imagine Tanner being able to top the wondrous feelings he’d gifted her with last night, but somehow he did. With the only light coming from a fixture over the kitchen sink, her bedroom lay mostly in dimness, making him seem real one moment and more like a shadow the next, every titillating touch of his hands on her body airy, every brush of his lips on her skin whisper soft. He built the anticipation and need within her until she could barely stand it.
After a crinkling of foil, he rose over her, his muscular body limned in a golden shimmer. As he pushed into her, she grabbed his defined upper arms and lifted her hips to meet his. Then she found his cadence, which echoed the violent hammering of her heart. Desire and urgent need edged out sanity.
Since young adulthood she’d imagined how it might feel to ride a gigantic wave on a surfboard to its crest, only to lose balance and succumb to its indescribable power. Now she knew that it was a beautiful but devastating sensation, becoming like flotsam, surfacing and then getting sucked under, being tossed to incredible heights and then pulled down into a crushing depth where her lungs ached for breath and her whole body clamored for release. When the climax finally came, it was like an explosion of brightness, splintering through darkness until she rode a gentle wave of absolute pleasure to a sun-warmed shore of bone-melting contentment.
Limbs intertwined, skin damp, they lay in each other’s arms like exhausted children who’d run and played too hard all day. Crystal could barely muster the strength to tell him, “Oh, Tanner, that was beyond incredible.”
She felt his lips curve into a smile against her hair. “It’s called spontaneous combustion.”
Crystal sighed. “If I live to be a hundred, I’ll never experience the equal of that.”
“Oh, yeah? Give me thirty minutes.”
He’d taken her words as a challenge. Obviously. She smiled and snuggled closer to him. “I need at least an hour, and you’ve got to go home.”
“Nope. I already texted Mom. Told her about the underwear murderer.”
“That makes him sound as if he goes around killing panties.”
“Don’t change the subject by trying to make a joke. I’m not leaving you here alone.” When she started to protest, he tightened his hand over her hip. “Period. End of discussion. Mom can handle the kids. I care about you. Don’t ask me to walk away when you may be in danger. That guy they arrested, with a car registration showing a Medford address? Medford’s not that far away. If I’m from there, and that guy in jail is from there, how many other Medford men could possibly be in town? No offense to Sterling, but right now his case hangs on circumstantial evidence. He found nothing in the vehicle. Where did the dude put your underwear? Unless he has a residence here or found somewhere to stash his souvenirs, he didn’t take your things. They could have the wrong man.”
“You’re scaring me.”
“I don’t mean to. I’m just saying that until we know for sure he’s the man who entered your house, I’m not leaving you alone.” Just then, Crystal felt Rip jump up on the bed behind her. “And hello. Rip says I’m right. He wants to protect you, too.”
“Or he just knows I’m upset and is trying to comfort me.”
“I’ll double down on that. Protect, comfort. Kind of the same thing.”
Crystal thought of the long night that would lie ahead if Tanner bailed on her. She would have Rip, of course, and she’d probably be fine, but she would feel twice as safe if Tanner stayed. Then she’d have two bodyguards, and she had a feeling both of them would do whatever it took to protect her.
“Thank you,” she said.
“Thank you,” he whispered. “You’ve made me feel really alive again. Not that my kids and mom don’t. Please don’t get me wrong. But meeting you, coming to care for you—well, it’s a totally different kind of feeling.”
Crystal almost reminded him she wasn’t looking for a permanent relationship, but she let the moment slip by. Being with him and his kids had given her a glimpse of everything she was missing, and for the first time in her adult life, she wanted to take a chance on love.
She drifted off to sleep in the strong circle of his arms, aware of Rip lying just behind her, also guarding her safety.
* * *
The dream came softly, just as it always did. She was a young girl, straining with
all her might to draw back the bow far enough to put power into her shot. Sweat broke out all over her body. She trembled with the effort. Daddy would be proud of her if she did it right. Maybe, if she did it perfectly and hit her target, he’d even say he loved her. A hunger to hear those words created a raw, empty place inside her, and that ached far worse than her arms and back as she overtaxed her muscles.
“Come on, Crystal. You’re a tall, strong girl. Pull it back, steady and sure. Your arms are jumping all over the place.”
Because I’m not strong enough, she wanted to scream. Only, she didn’t, because then he’d never say he loved her.
“Sight in. Take a deep breath and let it out. Aim for the heart.”
Crystal squinted at the target. Daddy bought big paper pictures of bull elk, and the heart was painted on its body, a red ball surrounded with black rings. He tacked the targets on stacked hay bales. The outlined dot at the center of the red area was the bull’s-eye. If her arrow didn’t hit there, he’d cuss, light a cigarette, and blame her for being such a disappointment to him that she’d made him smoke behind her mom’s back again. Then he’d tell her she had just put another nail in his coffin.
It was then that the dream always changed. Crystal struggled to awaken. Somewhere in her subconscious, she knew this was the nightmare. A recurring one she had experienced so many times that all she wanted was to open her eyes. Only, they seemed to be glued shut.
The bull’s-eye remained the same, but the antlered elk vanished, and just as she released the arrow, the target became her little sister, Mary Ann. She was beautiful—not tall and skinny like Crystal with sharp features, but little with an oval face, a button nose, strawberry blond curls, and huge blue eyes. She looked like a church angel.
The arrow hit home, and Mary Ann jerked, her arms flying out at each side of her body as the impact knocked her backward. Crystal felt as if the arrow had plowed into her own chest instead. She couldn’t breathe. Running, running. She had to reach Mary Ann. If she pulled the arrow out, it would be okay. It was archery practice, not real life. Nothing got hurt. It was just pretend.
Only when she reached the little girl lying on the grass, she was real. Not made of paper. And blood came away on Crystal’s fingers. She held up her hands. The crimson dripped from her palms and went down her wrists. No! The scream echoed on the air, bouncing back at her. No!
Gasping for breath, Crystal jolted awake, barely managing to stop herself from screaming that word aloud. She jackknifed to a sitting position. Sweat from her skin dampened the sheets. With a sick lurch of her stomach, she recognized the muscular length lying beside her as Tanner’s body. Thank God she hadn’t woken him. The dream was something she shared with no one.
Okay. Okay. She gulped for breath. Just a dream. Wake up. Focus on something real. What Crystal’s searching gaze landed on was Rip, who was wide-awake and sitting beside her on the mattress. She wrapped both arms around him, grateful when he didn’t growl.
She grabbed the kimono that lay crumpled near her pillow and tugged it on. After picking up the dog, who still felt as heavy as a boulder, she swung out of bed. Once in the living room, she sank to the floor and braced her back against the wall, her arms still locked around the heeler. He licked at the tears streaming down her cheeks.
“I didn’t mean to kill her,” she told him in a whisper. “I truly didn’t, Rip.” Her voice sounded little and choked, like that of the horrified child she’d once been. “Mama left to go grocery shopping during my practice hour. I was supposed to watch Mary Ann. My baby sister wanted me to stop shooting at targets and play with her.” Crystal drew the dog closer and pressed her wet face against his fur. “Only, I wanted Daddy to love me. I knew he never would if I didn’t practice.”
Rip whined and twisted on her lap to lick her face again.
“Mary Ann wanted to play dolls and started pestering me. Every time I got my arrow nocked and was in a position to shoot, she’d dart out and make me lower the bow. I kept telling her I only had to practice a few more minutes. Finally, I bribed her to stop interfering by telling her I’d play with her for a whole hour if she’d be good. She agreed to the deal.”
Crystal’s mind tumbled back through the years, and she was eleven years old again, reliving those few moments. She’d resumed position and focused on the target. This time she knew she would hit the bull’s-eye. Her shoulders and arms didn’t ache, because Mary Ann’s interruptions had given her several chances to rest. Daddy wasn’t there. When she showed him her targets, he’d never know she’d cheated to hit the center.
“Okay, Mary Ann,” she yelled. “I’m going to shoot now! Stay back out of my line of fire. Okay?”
“Okay!” Mary Ann called back.
Crystal took a bracing breath and drew a bead. And then, just as she let the arrow fly, Mary Ann cried, “Ha, ha! Fooled you!”
Those were the last words Crystal’s baby sister ever spoke.
Crystal hugged the dog tighter. “I didn’t mean to hurt her, Rip. I was frustrated with her, but I truly didn’t mean to hurt her. Why wouldn’t anyone but Tuck believe that?”
Rip whined and bathed her face again. The rasp of his warm tongue soothed her. When the dream finally lost its hold on her, she took measured breaths until she felt drowsy again. Tanner stirred awake when she slipped back into bed. She scooted close and found the safe haven of his arms. The hollow of his well-padded shoulder provided her with a perfect pillow for her head.
“Where’d you go?” he asked.
“I just sat in the living room with Rip for a while. Bad dream.”
“Need to talk about it?”
“No, I’m good.” She had just talked about it with Rip, and oddly enough she felt better. Not good, but better. “I’d rather experience incredible again.”
He rose on an elbow and bent his head to trail his silken lips over hers. “I think I can deliver on that request,” he whispered.
And he did.
* * *
Tuck awakened at dawn in bed with Essie. He smiled with contentment. Their lovemaking the previous night had been beautiful, and there was no question in his mind that he’d fallen in love with her. At his age, what did a man do with feelings that ran so deep? He couldn’t go down on bended knee yet, not even on a good day. And he sure as hell couldn’t promise her forever. He couldn’t even guarantee her six months.
As if she sensed the tension in him, she stirred awake and fixed him with that gorgeous brown gaze that always made him feel besotted. “Uh-oh. Morning-after regrets?”
He kissed her forehead. “Never that, Essie. I just realized I’m in love with you, and I’m not sure what to do about that.”
She smiled. “I think you made a fabulous start last night. I’ll be content with repeat, repeat, and repeat.”
Tuck sighed. “This isn’t only about sex for me.”
She giggled and toyed with the silver hair on his chest. “At our age, it can’t be only about sex. We’d both die of overexertion.” Her hand cupped his breast muscle. “Has any woman told you that you’ve got the body of a much younger man?”
“Marge used to, but she died twenty-three years ago, when I was only fifty-seven. It’s much nicer to hear that now.”
“I’ll tell you often, then.”
Tuck couldn’t help but laugh. “Are you deliberately tryin’ to avoid talkin’ about our feelin’s for each other?”
Essie sighed and locked gazes with him. “Tucker Malloy, are you thinking that you need to make an honest woman of me? I didn’t come here last night to make you feel obligated to me in any way.”
“You’re already an honest woman, one of the finest I’ve ever met. But I’ve gone and fallen in love with you, Essie. For me, that’s really somethin’, and I want a whole lot more than just sex from you. Bein’ able to hold you in my arms. Wakin’ up with you in the mornin’. Maybe havin’ breakfast in b
ed together. And I sure as hell don’t wanna sneak around to do it.”
“Are you asking me to marry you?”
“I reckon I am.”
“At our age? I’m seventy-eight.”
“You don’t have to wear white for the ceremony.”
She giggled. “That’s a mercy. God might strike me dead with a lightning bolt.”
“Be serious, please. I ain’t a player, Essie.”
That brought her up on her elbow. “A player? Have you been reading the Urban Dictionary?”
“Nope. I got a granddaughter that uses young-folk language. And you’re still laughing this off. If I’m alone in my feelin’s, then just tell me so.”
Her brown eyes went shimmery with tears. She traced his whiskery jaw with a fingertip. “You aren’t alone. I have deep feelings for you, too. I just— Well, if you want the bald truth, my kids would have conniptions if I got married. Garth, especially, although Rebecca’s no slouch in the greed department. They’d be afraid I might kick the bucket before you do and put their inheritance at risk in a community property state.”
“We can sign one of them agreements. I don’t want your money, darlin’. Hell, if I live to be a hundred, which ain’t likely, I probably won’t spend all of my own unless I go wild and buy a fleet of sports cars.”
“Prenups are so mercenary. I hate the thought of that.”
Tuck chuckled. “If it keeps your kids happy, nothin’ else matters. All I want is you. So far as I’m concerned, you can give every dime to your kids right now, and we can live on my money. I’m not your kind of rich, but I sure as hell ain’t poor.”
“But I want to transform this facility. If I give my money away, I can’t do that. And quite honestly, Tuck, I think I’d lose some of my drive if I stopped trying to build my holdings. I’ve been acquiring wealth since I was wet behind the ears. It’s not the money that matters, but the challenge of keeping what’s there and adding to it.”
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