She was tempted to thank him again but sensed it wasn’t what he wanted to hear. Instead she sipped the broth and settled back into the sofa. It was strange, she mused, how comfortable she was being around him. She hadn’t expected it. On the two occasions they’d met before she’d always had her guard up, and always felt as though Tanner had, too. But this time was different. There was no one to hide behind. No one to whisper words about how unfriendly and indifferent he was. No one to tell her he was the kind of man who preferred his own company and his horses to having real relationships. Cassie was seeing him without Doug’s bias and prejudice for the first time...and she liked him. A lot.
“So, I guess you should stay tonight, too?”
The intense way he was watching her made it impossible to look anywhere but into his eyes.
“Do you want me to stay?”
Cassie took a second and then nodded. “I think Oliver would like it.”
So would I...
“All right,” he said and watched her over the rim of his coffee mug. “I’ll return to Ruthie’s tomorrow.”
“Thank you.”
Silence stretched between them and Cassie waited for discomfiture to crawl across her skin. When it didn’t come she knew it was because she’d quickly become accustomed to Tanner’s company. Despite how attracted she was to him and despite how much she knew it could never go anywhere, he was easy to be around.
He was, she realized, nothing like the man Doug had so often described.
Instead of being a moody closed-off loner, he was friendly and generous and considerate. And he possessed a laid-back kind of charm she found increasingly difficult to overlook. In the kitchen, the garden or the nursery he did everything with such an easygoing confidence it was impossible to not be attracted to him.
Admit it...you’re also thinking he’d be good in the bedroom...
Cassie shook the thought away. It was stupid. She still loved Doug. And she was a single mother. A soon-to-be homeless single mother who didn’t have time to waste thinking about Tanner in that way. In any way, for that matter. But it had been such a long time since she’d thought about strong arms and a broad chest. And longer still since she’d thought about sex. With anyone.
“Are you sure you’re feeling okay now?” he asked softly.
“Positive,” she lied and managed a smile. “Soup and sleep therapy will work a treat tonight and I will be back to my usual self by tomorrow.”
He nodded. “It’s getting late... You shouldn’t wear yourself out.”
She was touched by his concern. But a part of her wondered if he wanted to shuffle her off to bed so they wouldn’t be alone. He had to know she was attracted to him. And she was pretty sure it was mutual. He obviously thought it a bad idea. Which of course it was.
“So, what are your plans?” she asked. “I mean, once you’ve finishing saving the day here?”
He grinned. “I didn’t realize that’s what I’d been doing.”
“Sure you did,” she said and smiled a little.
He shrugged again. “I have an appointment with Doug’s lawyer on Wednesday. After that I’m not sure. We’ll have to see what the lawyer says.”
We...
As if it was inclusive. As if it had something to do with her. As if...well, almost as if they were a couple.
Cassie silently cursed her foolishness and ignored the flush rising over her collarbones at the thought of the idea. Two days together didn’t make them anything. “I know you said there was no hurry for me to start looking for a new place to live, but I can’t see the sense in putting it off. I could never afford to take on the mortgage here, so the sooner I accept the inevitable, the better.”
* * *
Tanner’s insides contracted. He hated hearing the disappointment and pain in her voice. This was her home. The home she’d made for her son. The home she’d known as a young girl when she’d moved in with her grandfather after her parents had been killed. It had to hurt her. He knew only too well what it was to lose the one place that had made him feel safe when he was a child. He wanted to make it right. But nothing he said would offer her consolation or comfort.
“Like I said, we’ll wait and see what the lawyer has to say.”
She shrugged as though it didn’t matter, but Tanner knew she was resigned to losing her home. And once again he silently cursed his brother. Doug should have provided for Cassie and his son. He should have ensured they had a place to live and were financially secure.
“I think I’ll get some rest,” she murmured as she placed the mug down and stood. “Thank you again for everything you’ve done for Oliver...and for me. I know this probably isn’t what you expected to be doing when you made the decision to return to Crystal Point. I’m very grateful for your concern and kindness.”
Tanner stared at her and a heavy sensation uncurled in his chest. She had a way of doing that to him. It made him feel weak...almost vulnerable. And it gave her a power over him he was certain she didn’t know she possessed.
“Good night, Cassie,” he said and got to his feet. “Let me know if you need anything.”
What I need is a cold shower...
Even in her silly pajamas and nightgown, with her hair mussed and slippers on her feet, she was beautiful and sexy and warmed his blood. No other woman had ever had quite the same effect on his libido. Sure, he’d dated several women over the years...but Cassie Duncan stirred him like no one else ever had. He’d fought it for years, convincing himself that she loved his brother and his own feelings were of little consequence. But sometimes, like the way her blue eyes watched him when she thought he wasn’t looking, Tanner couldn’t help wondering if she regarded him as more than Doug’s brother. More than Oliver’s uncle.
Don’t be an ass.
Of course it was stupid. And wrong. She’d borne his brother’s child. She was clearly still in love with Doug. She’d made it clear that she didn’t really want him in her life.
So get moving and take that cold shower.
“Good night,” he said again, firmer this time so he could galvanize himself into action and get away from her. “I’ll lock up.”
She nodded and left the room. Once he was alone Tanner let out a long breath, flicked off the lights and waited until he heard her bedroom door close before he walked from the room and checked that all the windows and doors were locked around the house. Once he was done he moved down the hallway and headed for the bathroom. He took a shower and turned in around nine, spending the next couple of hours staring at the ceiling in between getting up to check on Oliver. By midnight he’d had enough. He pulled on jeans and a shirt and made his way to the kitchen.
A soft glow illuminated down the hall and when he rounded the doorway he noticed the light above the stovetop was on. Cassie was sitting at the kitchen table, a mug cradled between her hands. She’d changed into gray sweats and her hair was pulled back in a ponytail.
“Hey,” he said easily, despite the inexplicable tightness that filled his chest. “Couldn’t sleep?”
She shook her head. “No. You?”
Tanner nodded and remained in the doorway. “Lingering jet lag, I guess.”
“And with looking after Oliver you haven’t exactly had a chance to sleep it off, right?”
He shrugged. “It’ll work itself out. You, on the