Chapter One
If there was one thing Becca Hartson hated, it was saying goodbye. One way or another, she’d been saying it for most of her life. First to her mom – who’d died when Becca was only four. She could barely remember that goodbye, but her four older brothers had filled in the painful blanks.
And then one by one they’d left her, too. The eldest – Gray – to become a rockstar, then the twins, Cam and Logan, who went to college and settled down in Boston. And finally Tanner. Her playmate when she was a child and her bête noir as an adult. With only a few years between them, they’d spent most of their lives fighting like cats and dogs.
But she loved him anyway. And saying goodbye to him had been the hardest of all, because it meant she was alone in her childhood home with only her taciturn father and Aunt Gina, her mother’s sister who brought up the five Hartson siblings after their mother died, for company.
Yet one by one all her brothers had come back to live in town, making her beyond happy. Especially Tanner.
Even if right now he was driving her crazy.
“Move your hand away from the frosting before I chop it off.” She yanked the cake she’d spent two hours decorating out of his grasp. “Why are you here anyway? I have to leave for the distillery in twenty minutes.”
Her brother glanced at the Rolex Submariner on his wrist. Sure, he was aggravating, but Tanner Hartson was also rich as heck, thanks to selling his financial tech business a few years earlier. Nowadays he invested in property – it felt like he owned half of their small home town of Hartson’s Creek.
“Why are you going to work now? It’s nearly seven. You don’t work night shifts.”
Becca sighed. “It’s Nathan’s leaving party.” Her chest tightened all over again. Yep, she still hated goodbyes. “And this cake is for him. So I’ll repeat myself. Why are you here?”
“Well, first of all, because I’m the only one of us who’s free to check on you tonight.” Tanner looked around Becca’s small condo. “Is everything okay? Your neighbors been quiet? Anybody causing you problems?”
“Everything’s fine.” She shook her head, because seriously, her brothers drove her crazy. She’d moved out of her childhood home a few months earlier, into a condo she’d saved for all by herself. And it hadn’t gone over well with her family.
But she loved the little home she’d made here. With the cost of buying it, she hadn’t had much money available to decorate the rooms to her taste. Instead she’d scoured the local markets and thrift shops for furniture and paintings for the walls, draping the sofa with jewel colored embroidered throws and cushions she’d made from soft cashmere sweaters.
The only room she’d furnished from new was the kitchen. It was her baby. The place where she worked out all of her problems and stress. She loved her job at the local whiskey distillery, but it could be overwhelming at times.
Baking sweet, flaky creations was her way of pushing away the anxiety of being an adult.
“I don’t like the guy in number eight,” Tanner told her. “He’s shifty.”
“He’s almost eighty.” Becca shook her head. “You guys have to let go. I’m happy here. I’m safe, my neighbors are friendly and there’s no crime here at all. I even let you install those damn locks on the door. Now if that’s all you wanted, I need to get out of here.”
Tanner leaned on her breakfast bar, showing no intention of leaving. “Actually, there’s something else I wanted to ask you.”
Becca glanced at the clock on her oven. She was definitely going to be late. “Can you make it quick?”
Tanner pouted. She’d always been jealous of his lips. Full, pink, and perfectly pouty. “I have a favor to ask,” he said, lowering his voice as if they were being monitored. “This goes no further, okay?”
Becca tried not to grin. “I could have so much fun with this, but I don’t have time. Okay, shoot. What’s the favor?”
“Van’s pregnant.”
“Oh my god!!” Becca squealed and hugged her brother tightly. “Congratulations. That’s amazing.”
Tanner rubbed her back with his flat palm. “Thanks. She’s suffering from morning sickness. Says the only thing she wants to eat is carrot cake. I bought some from the diner, but she just turned her nose up at it. So I… ah… wondered if you could make a cake for her tomorrow.”
“Poor Van.” Becca frowned with sympathy. “And of course I’ll make something. I can have it ready by mid morning.” Sure, she’d have to get up early, after a night partying with her workmates. But that was okay, right? “Has she tried anything else to curb the nausea?” she asked. “Maybe you should talk to Gray, remember how sick Maddie got when she was pregnant with the twins.”
Tanner paled. “We’re not having twins.”
Biting down a smile, Becca gently released herself from his embrace. “I know,” she reassured, even though twins ran through their family. “But Gray could probably suggest some remedies.”
“I’m not telling Gray. If I tell him, all of Hartson Creek will know within a day. And Van will kill me, because I promised to keep it a secret until the second trimester.” Tanner sighed heavily. “This being a father thing is hard.”
She rubbed his shoulder affectionately. “You’re going
to be a great father. And I’d love to reassure you, but I have ten minutes before I need to leave and I still have to shower and change.”
His hand reached out to touch the cake again.
“Tanner!” She gave him the stink eye. “Go now. Or your baby’s going to start life with a one-handed father.”
He put both hands up in surrender. “Okay, okay. I’ll see you tomorrow, right?”
“Yes, you will. I’ll call when the cake is ready.”