Tanner
“You had your hands on my wife.” Tanner bit the words out between clenched teeth, and for the second time in a week, he fought the urge to tackle Wyatt to the floor and lay a few well-deserved punches on that golden face of his. The idea gave Tanner all kinds of warm fuzzies. No way he’d land that sponsorship with a broken nose.
Wyatt pushed away the hand that held a fistful of his still-wet shirt. “If you stop and think for one single moment, you’d realize I was trying to help you, you ungrateful bastard.”
Tanner’s brows shot up. “Help me? Like you helped me when you harassed me almost every day for two weeks until I agreed to drive out to see you? Like you helped me when you challenged me to drink with you? Like you helped me when you put your filthy hands on my wife the first chance you had?”
His brother laughed. “You’re ridiculous. I was giving her a hug. I hope like hell that she will forgive you because I’m fairly certain this is driving you crazy.”
He hated to admit it, but Wyatt might be right. The very idea of a life without Belle. A life where they would have to be together at times because of the kids. Where he would have to see her moving on with someone better, someone smarter, someone who appreciated her. Yeah, that was enough to make him certifiably insane.
“Why the hell did you go over there, Wyatt?” He ran his fingers through his hair, and the action made his stomach turn. They had been in such a good place until she saw those pictures. “I swear, if you did something, anything, that makes Belle change her mind and she doesn’t show up tomorrow—”
“You know, every once in a while I am capable of doing something right.” His brother’s eyes held a tinge of hurt, and the corners of his mouth turned down. “I went there tonight because you screwed up more than just…that.”
Tanner’s brows knitted together, and he shook his head. “What the hell else did I do wrong? I spent years practically ignoring Belle and the kids when I thought I was doing the right thing to keep the company successful and everyone happy. And since that wasn’t enough to drive her away, I decided to make out with some chick I don’t know and hope to never see again. Oh yeah, and let’s not forget there were pictures because she needed to actually see it rather than just hear about it.”
Wyatt sighed and threw himself down in the armchair in Tanner’s old bedroom. Current bedroom. Temporary bedroom.
“You got it all wrong, big brother.” The cocky smirk took up residence on his face again. “Well, not about being a workaholic asshole that neglected the hottest chick in the world. That part you got totally right.”
Tanner’s nostrils flared. “Don’t you dare call her that again.”
He straightened his posture and rested his forearms on his knees. “Listen, I’m going to impart the same gem of wisdom to you that I did to Iz. I didn’t pull you off that girl.”
His mouth went dry and he swallowed a few times. No. No way in hell he had done anything more. No. He’d remember that and there wasn’t enough alcohol in the world to make him do that. No.
Wyatt continued, oblivious to Tanner’s thoughts. “Iz always had a thing for your hair. It’s annoying as hell watching you two, ya know? But whatever that means to y’all, it was enough to flip the switch.” He stretched his legs out in front of him and crossed them at the ankles, locking his hands behind his head. “You pushed her away. You found me.”
Tanner rubbed his temple and shook his head. This made no sense. “I don’t remember a lot, but I remember you dragging me away from the bar. I remember you pushing me into your truck.”
Wyatt laughed. “I was dragging you because your sorry ass was so drunk you couldn’t walk. You were begging me to take you back to the hotel. We really need to do something about your alcohol tolerance, brother. That was damn near embarrassing.”
He cued up the same picture he’d shown his sister-in-law. “See, you ended it. Hell, you wanted me to drive you back here that same night.”
Tanner studied the picture on the screen, disgust with himself warred with pride that he’d come to his senses on his own. Hope surged, knowing Belle saw the same thing in this picture he did. “And you showed Belle this? What did she say? What did she do?”
His brother shifted uncomfortably in the chair. “The same thing all girls do around me. She cried and ruined one of my favorite shirts.” He threw Tanner another arrogant grin, this time looking far more superficial. “After she said, ‘Oh Wyatt, thank you, Wyatt,’ which is pretty standard too.”
He rolled his eyes at his brother. “I think you just bought yourself a free pass on the ass kicking you so richly deserve.” He tossed the phone over to Wyatt. “Now get the hell out of this room. I need sleep.”
***
Tanner closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair, rubbing the ache that was rapidly forming between his eyes. “Wyatt, I can’t come out. I told you that the past three times you called and asked last week and when I answered all the text messages.”
“You never want to come watch me. Hell, you haven’t even come out the past couple of years when I’ve been close to home. Izzy and the kids came alone. Twice.” His brother let out a heavy sigh. “Come on, Tanner, Nashville is only a five-hour drive, and this is a really important for me.”
When Wyatt had set out on this absurd “career path” after high school, he left in true Wyatt fashion with a lot of things undone, unsaid, and one completely devastated auburn-haired girl. But in spite of Tanner’s doubts, Wyatt had managed to build a rather lucrative empire through championship wins and sponsors.
And now he actually wanted Tanner to come see his competition? Very un-Wyatt like, but hell, he’d never asked Tanner for anything before, much less this incessantly.
He eyed the schedule on his computer screen and all the meetings, almost back to back, for the next three weeks.
But Jack could handle most of this by himself.
“Okay, but only for the final night,” he finally acquiesced.
The relief in his brother’s voice was nearly palpable across the line. “Yeah?”
Tanner chuckled. “Yeah. Just let me talk to Belle tonight.”
Shit. As he drove home hours later, the sun falling from the sky in front of his truck, he realized he probably should have talked to her first. Tanner dismissed the thought quickly. His Belle was amazing. She took all his schedule changes in stride and handled everything at home. She was the one part of his life he never had to worry about.
She’d be fine.
He wandered around the silent house for a few minutes before he finally discovered her, lying on the couch reading. Her legs stretched out against the gray material, bare beneath the short black shorts, nearly wiped his mind clear. Damn, she was the sexiest thing alive.
“Hey, Tanner.” Her greeting was soft as she set the book down and smiled.
He sat beside her on the couch and ran a hand up her leg, grinning when she sucked in a breath of air. “Hey, sweetheart.”
Her hands wrapped around his neck and trailed into his hair. “I missed you.” She pressed her body against his, brushing her lips across his ear when she spoke.
Damn, she gave as good as she got. Tanner shook his head slightly, not wanting to forget to tell her he’d be taking off in a couple of days. Not that she’d mind. “I need to tell you something. I’m heading out Wednesday. Probably in the afternoon.”
She pulled back, resting her arms on his shoulders, and something indecipherable flickered in her eyes. “Another trip? I thought you were clear for the rest of the month.”
“No, not a business trip.” He tugged her close again, his mouth leaving tiny kisses on her neck.
But she sat back again and he frowned. “Then what is it?”
Tanner dropped his hands from her waist. “Wyatt. He’s been asking me for almost two weeks to drive out to Nashville and watch his competition. He says it’s important and he really wants me there.”
She scooted down the couch far enough to slide off behind him. “Got it, Tanner.”
He watched her retreating back as she hopped up the stairs, completely confused by what just happened.