She watched his eyes. His face. Not a hint of recognition flickered there. Okay, that stung, but she shouldn’t be surprised. He’d been partying pretty heavily the night they’d met. A party that had continued until the wee hours of the next morning before they’d ended up back in his fancy hotel room....
“Pleased to meet you, Tanya.” His words cut into her thoughts. “Now, can I ask how you got in here?”
She dropped her hands to her hips, the need to call for help forgotten. “How I— How did you get in here?”
“I have a key. One I didn’t have to use because the door was open.”
No, that wasn’t right. She’d made sure she closed it behind her.
“You have to jiggle the handle to make sure the latch catches,” he continued, as if he’d read her mind. “Otherwise, you never know who might walk in.”
Tanya crossed her arms, suddenly conscious of her lack of clothing. Why it bothered her now when she practically lived in yoga wear she didn’t want to think about.
Heck, the night she’d met Devlin Murphy she hadn’t been wearing much more than feathers and sequins. A lot of sequins.
“Thanks for the tip. I’ll keep it in mind for the future.”
“So, you plan to do...” His voice trailed off as he waved a hand in the air. “Whatever that was you were doing again?”
“Daily.”
His mouth pressed into a hard line and he gripped the edge of the desk. Did the idea of her working out here bother him that much? Why should he care?
“And what I was doing is called yoga. Anusara yoga, to be exact,” she added. “It’s not as demanding as other forms, but after sleeping last night on that lumpy mattress in the cabin— Hey, are you okay?”
He released his tight hold on the desk, but Tanya saw the fine sheen of sweat on his forehead.
“Yes, I’m fine.”
She’d heard about the horrific accident he’d been in last summer—it had even made the papers in Denver, the well-known names of the victims jarring her memory. Once he and his brother had been found safe, the story had disappeared from the news, but the last reports had said that Devlin would be hospitalized for months.
“I asked because you look like you’re in pain.”
His jaw tightened further. “I’m not. Did you just say you slept in the cabin?”
Tanya nodded, not believing his denial for a moment. “Mac offered me one of the spare bedrooms in the farmhouse, but I’m used to having my own space. He also told me the second key on the key ring was to this place and I was free to—”
“Wait a minute, you have—” Surprise registered over his handsome features. “Why would Mac give you a key to the hangar?”
“Why would he give you one?” she shot back.
“Because we’re friends.”
“Well, we’re family.”
Devlin’s mouth literally dropped open. “You’re what?”
“Steve Mackenzie is my grandfather.” The shock on his face had Tanya wondering if Devlin and Mac were as good friends as he claimed. “Didn’t you know he had a family?”
“A daughter, yes, but they haven’t been in touch— I mean, they were— They’d just started to...”
“Work things out?” she offered when he stumbled over his words. “That’s true. There were a lot of years he and my mother didn’t talk, didn’t have anything to do with each other actually, but that changed last fall. Mac came to visit just after Thanksgiving, and of course, my mom wanted me there, too. She thought it was time we got to know each other again.”
“Again?”
This time, Tanya smiled and took pity on him. “My mom and I lived here in Destiny with Mac until my eighth birthday.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
A fact she’d never shared with him that night ten years ago after he’d told her who he was and where he was from. Not that it would’ve helped her earn a spot in his memory.
“Yeah, I remember Mac mentioning his daughter living with him for a couple of years, but that’s all.” He pulled in a deep breath and slowly released it, the tension leaving his jaw as that same charming smile she remembered came to his lips. “So you’re here for a visit.”
Her heart started that crazy pounding again.
Setting down her cell phone and grabbing her towel, Tanya held the cotton material to her chest, thankful for the way it draped down the center of her body as she patted at the sweat drying on her skin. “Actually, I came to help Mac.”
“Help, how?”
“I’m assuming you know about the arthritis in his hands?” Devlin nodded, but remained silent so she continued. “Well, I’m a licensed acupuncturist. We did a few sessions during his time in Denver, and it seemed to help with his pain. When the chance came for me to come here and work with him again, I agreed.”
“Did you say acupuncture?” Devlin asked, swearing under his breath. “As in needles?”
“Yes, that’s what she said.”
Tanya turned at the low, gravelly voice of her grandfather.
“Hey, Mac,” she said, using his nickname. Calling him Granddad didn’t feel right, given the fragile state of their renewed relationship.
As she looked at him, she was still amazed at how much the man looked like Jimmy Buffett. She’d told him so when they’d reconnected back in November, surprised to find out her grandfather was as much of a fan of the famed musician as she was. “When did you get here?”
“A few minutes ago and just in time, it seems.” He joined them, stopping to stand between her and Devlin and glancing at the brick-strewn floor of the hangar. “Good to see you, Dev. I tried to tell you about Tanya’s visit, but my phone kept cutting out on me.”
Mac dropped a battered backpack at his feet. He held out his hands, clenching and releasing his fingers. “This damn knuckle-busting arthritis is tough on the flying. I’m sure glad she’s here.”
“Yeah, so I heard,” Dev finally said. “But needles? Really?”
Mac laughed and pushed the brim of his ball cap higher on his forehead. “Yeah, no big surprise I didn’t tell you about that, either. Besides, I didn’t just want Tanya here to help with my aching bones. We’ve been in touch quite a bit thanks to emails and phone calls the last few months, but we’ve still got a lot of catching up to do.”
“After twenty years apart, I’d say so.”
“Twenty-three.”
Mac’s reply overlapped Tanya’s and she laughed, returning Mac’s grin.
“Am I missing the joke?” Devlin asked.
“My mom and Mac had their first disagreement during their reunion over exactly how long it’d been since they’d seen each other,” Tanya explained. “Once they finally agreed on the number of years, it sort of became a running joke.”
“At the least, it’s a tension breaker. Which is a good thing, because I guess I can now admit to having ulterior motives for getting Tanya back to Destiny again,” Mac said.
Tanya saw the craftiness in the old man’s dark brown eyes as he glanced at Devlin. Figuring out what he meant took a matter of seconds. “Oh, no. No way.”
“Tanya,