Brushing my fingers over Casey’s gently pointed chin, I’m fighting the urge to kiss her again. “Remember when I said you made this town nicer to come home to?”
“Yes.”
“After tonight, after what you did, you made everything perfect. I know it sounds crazy and too fast, but I’ve been looking for a reason to retire for some time now. Not only have you made this town nicer to come home to, but you made me realize my home is with you, Casey. I want you, and I don’t want anyone else.”
She bites her lip and winces.
That’s not the reaction I was hoping for.
“We’d better go inside and talk,” she says.
ChapterThirteen
Casey
The conversation has moved into Tanner’s motel room, where we sit together at the head of the bed. Our shoes are off, and Tanner’s back is propped against the headboard. I sit next to him, turning to face him as I lean on one hip, my legs tucked halfway under me.
He holds my hand as I speak, causing me to occasionally lose my train of thought because his rough fingers caress the back of my hand.
“I’ve been holding back with you because I generally don’t open up with guys. And I definitely don’t get involved with guys who travel for work.
“Growing up, my dad traveled for work as a salesman. My brother and I hardly ever saw him during the week. But when he would come home on weekends, he would make a big production. He’d cook all the meals, do everything. My mom didn’t have to do anything but put her feet up. This continued for a few years until we discovered my dad had a second family in another state.”
“Your dad was a bigamist?” Tanner’s eyes grow wide, and his caressing hand has moved up to my forearm, and stills.
I snort. “If only there was a reason to charge him with a crime. No, he wasn’t married to the other woman. But he had kids with her. He spent all weekdays with her. My mom and us kids only rated weekends. Eventually, Mom remarried a great guy, and I thought I had healed from all of that. She certainly had.
“But it turns out I didn’t know how to spot those red flags before I got involved with someone who was a serial cheater.”
Tanner has resumed caressing my forearm, slowly up and down the outside, moving inside to the tender spot inside my elbow, and tracing his fingertips down to the inside of my wrist. I have to control my shivers as I finish my story.
“When my dad died, my brother and I got a sizable inheritance since he never legally married the other woman. My brother and I each gave some to Dad’s other kids instead of forcing them to prove paternity and involve the courts. It was pretty clear to me we were half-siblings.
“I used the rest of my inheritance to buy a couple of rental properties. Eventually, I was able to profit enough to buy another and another. Soon, I had to hire a management company to handle repairs and field calls from tenants. It was a good life; I made a comfortable living. I’d like to think I had a good relationship with my tenants.
“Then I met a guy. We met on LinkedIn, where I thought it was safe because we were both professionally interested in the same things. We were together less than a month when he suggested he take over as caretaker, and we let the property management company go. He said it would save us money in the long run.
“At the time, I couldn’t see it, but looking back, I realize he was a gold digger. Not that I had amassed that much money, but he saw the number of properties I owned and wanted in on the profits. His own properties weren’t doing so well. That should have been a warning sign for me.
It wasn’t six months later that I found out he was not only not answering calls from half of my tenants who had legitimate complaints, but he also was using his job as my manager to meet women. He had affairs going with at least two or three of my single tenants that I know of. He was gone often, and I thought it was because he worked hard. No. He was lazy and a liar, and it cost me tens of thousands of dollars to settle out of court with tenants who had complaints about everything from leaking roofs to broken refrigerators.
“Once I got out of that relationship, I sold off my properties and bought my ranch. I decided that being alone in the middle of nowhere was a good place to heal. I’d surround myself with animals and nature and never concern myself with romance or a relationship again.”
Tanner’s listening so intently; it warms my heart.
“And that’s it.”
He chews over this information for a bit. Eventually, he whistles. “Damn.”
“I know.”
Tanner smooths his hand up to my shoulders, then takes a handful of my hair, driving me crazy with the pleasing sensation. “I don’t know if there’s anything I can say to convince you that I’m staying and that I’d never hurt you. I wouldn’t know where to begin with saying the right thing. But I hope you’ll allow me to prove it with my actions, Casey.”
That was the most perfect thing he could have said.
I don’t know who kisses who first, but our lips come together with something far different from how we kissed in the truck earlier. While before, it was frantic, now our kisses are full of yearning. I need his kiss like I need air, and Tanner needs mine the same way.
Our four hands clasped together, Tanner drags me onto his lap.