“I’d like him to know you, too.”
It wasn’t the truth. Not really. Because she was confused by her feelings for Tanner. And it was difficult imagining her son could have some kind of worthwhile relationship with a man she hardly knew. A man she wasn’t sure she wanted to know.
And that, she realized, was at the core of her reticence.
It wasn’t about Oliver.
It was the lingering awareness and unwanted attraction she had for Tanner that made her reluctant and suspicious. They’re my own secret demons. And she had to get over them. For Oliver’s sake.
“And your ranch?” she asked, changing the subject. “That’s going well?”
He nodded. “Sure. I’ve mostly been working with injured or traumatized horses for the last couple of years.” He managed a wry smile and glanced down at his leg. “Kind of ironic I guess.”
She relaxed fractionally. “Doug said you were some kind of horse whisperer.”
He laughed and the sound hit her directly between the ribs. “My brother always did like to make me sound like a crackpot.”
“I don’t think it sounds like that. And you know what they say—working with kids or animals is one of the hardest jobs in the world.”
“I think that’s in the movies, Cassie,” he said and smiled. “I just train horses to trust people again.”
She nodded, thinking that he’d probably managed to accomplish that as easily as he breathed. “And you’re happy there?”
He stilled and looked at her. “Yes, very happy.”
Cassie swallowed hard. “So you wouldn’t...you wouldn’t consider...”
“Consider what?” he asked and rubbed a gentle hand over the back of Oliver’s head.
She shrugged. “Moving back... Moving here...”
His brows shot up. “To Crystal Point? No. My life isn’t here anymore.”
She knew that. But unease still rippled through her veins. Because she knew what it meant. “Are you going to sell the house?”
He stared at her with blistering intensity. “Unfortunately, I’ll have to.”
Her blood stilled. “I could try and raise the money to...” Cassie stopped and thought about what she was suggesting. She’d never be able to commit to such a large debt. Her minimum wage job and the cost of child care put that option out of reach. She shrugged again. “I thought perhaps the insurance might have covered the mortgage.”
“No,” he said quietly. “There was some other debt and—”
“The Ducati,” she said and sighed. “Doug bought it the last time he was home.”
“Yes,” he said, still quiet. “I’m sorry about the house, Cassie. I know it was your grandfather’s home and means a lot to you.”
Heat pinged behind her eyes and she blinked quickly. She didn’t want his sympathy. Or his pity. If the house needed to be sold, then she had no option but to go along with his plans. She wanted to ask him about the “other debt,” but didn’t. What difference did it make now? Her home was going to be sold and there was nothing she could do about it.
“I’ll need some time to arrange things,” she said and concentrated her gaze on her smiling son. “Perhaps a month to sort through my—”
“There’s no rush.”
* * *
Tanner saw the emotion in her stare. He didn’t want to alarm her or make her life complicated. In fact he wanted the opposite. He’d come to Crystal Point to right a wrong. To forgive and find a kind of peace so he could get on with the rest of life.
She stared at him over the rim of her mug. She really does have the most amazing colored eyes. Eyes easy to get lost in. Eyes that made it even easier to forget that Doug had loved her. And that she had loved his brother.
“I guess that depends on how long it takes to sell,” she murmured.
“I have an appointment with Doug’s lawyer on Wednesday,” he explained. “We’ll know more after that.”
“We?” She looked skeptical. “The house belongs to you, Tanner. It’s your decision. Your call. I’ve got nothing to do with it.”
You’ve got everything to do with it...
Guilt pressed between his shoulders. And rage toward his brother that he quickly pushed back down. “On paper, perhaps. However,” he said and touched Oliver’s cheek, “there’s more to this situation than an out-of-date last will and testament. And there’s little point in imagining the worse outcome before we have all the facts.”
“But the mortgage—”
“We’ll see what happens. And any money left from the insurance will go into trust for Oliver.”
“But that’s not what Doug wanted,” she replied quickly. “He left everything to you.”
Tanner knew it had hurt her. How could it not? She was in a relationship with his brother and Doug had failed to provide for her and her child when she needed it the most.
In typical Doug fashion.
It wasn’t the first time his brother had betrayed a woman he’d professed to love.
“He would have changed things,” Tanner said, lying through his teeth as he looked down at the baby. “If he’d had the opportunity and the time. But he was in a war zone and on a covert mission, Cassie...and probably not thinking clearly.”
She sighed heavily. “I know that. He was...surprised... I mean, when I told him about the baby.”
Surprised? Tanner knew that wasn’t the half of it. Doug had called him at three in the morning in a rage, ranting about how Cassie had deliberately gotten pregnant and probably planned to trap him into a marriage he didn’t want. He played devil’s advocate as best he could, insisting that Cassie wouldn’t be so manipulative. But Doug was unswayed. He didn’t want marriage. Or children. And Tanner knew his brother intended telling Cassie as much, had he lived. He had the proof via several emails Doug had sent before he was killed.
The baby gurgled and he grabbed on to the distraction. He couldn’t tell her the truth. He wouldn’t. It was better she believed Doug wanted to do the right thing by her and his son.
“This little guy is my nephew and I promised Doug I’d look out for him,” he said softly and touched Oliver’s head. “And you.”
She visibly stiffened. “I don’t need looking out for, Tanner. I can take care of myself and Oliver.”
The air crackled and Tanner didn’t miss the edge of resentment in her voice. Not that he really blamed her. Cassie Duncan had no real reason to trust him. But he didn’t want to be at war with her, either.
“Can you at least meet me halfway, Cassie?” he asked. “I know you’ve been through a lot these past few months, but I’m not your enemy.”
“Then what exactly are you, Tanner? My knight in shining armor?”
“How about your friend?” he suggested and the moment the words came out, he felt like a complete fraud. He could never be friends with Cassie. He’d do what he’d returned to Crystal Point to do and then hightail it back home.
She stared at him. “Friends? Sure...”
But she looked as unconvinced about the idea as he was.
He placed Oliver back in the rocker. “I’ve