Chapter Twenty
Actually . . . I can.
—Mel’s Motivational Blog
Three days had passed since Tanner and the guys had gone to Atlanta. In those three days, Melanie hadn’t heard a word from him . . . nor had she heard a word from Neville or any of his assistants. Perhaps whatever had transpired had made an impact on her ex.
Still, Melanie was going absolutely stir crazy, because the whole typing-with-one-hand thing was a pain in the ass. This was why she always kept reserve blogs. Life and emergencies always came up. Granted this was a first with being unable to work like she was accustomed to, but still. She had plenty of plan B blogs, and she could always repost one of the more popular topics that had generated the most traffic. The more her blog grew, the more new faces came along, so it was always smart to leave snippets of information about her journey so her followers felt that connection with her.
But not being up to her full potential was frustrating. Wondering what Tanner had said to Neville was frustrating. Waiting for the stubborn man to say something to her was frustrating.
She could handle having her arm in a sling and a few stitches in her forehead. Her baby was safe and that’s all that mattered to her. Well, that and Tanner. He mattered. He mattered so much, she had begged Jade to take her to Tanner’s house to confront him. There was only so much irritation she could handle.
If Tanner wasn’t coming to her, then she was damn well going to him. He thought she hadn’t trusted him enough to tell him the truth, but what she’d felt was just the opposite. Why had he been so hurt? So angry at her actions? Everything she did had been for them . . . just the same as him going to Neville without telling her. She wanted to be angry, she wanted to pull on her feminist panties and be pissed. But she couldn’t be. How could she let anger in when he was doing the exact same thing she did?
Melanie stood outside Tanner’s house, but he hadn’t answered the door after her three attempts at knocking. His truck was in the driveway, so she knew he was home. She’d even sent Jade on with a wave and a smile. Melanie wasn’t going anywhere until she spoke to him, and she didn’t need an audience for it.
Melanie tried the front door, but the knob didn’t turn. Where was he?
She stepped down off the porch and made her way around the sidewalk toward the back of the house. That’s when she heard the old eighties rock blaring from the garage. Melanie pulled in a deep breath and charged in that direction. She’d geared up for a fight since he’d left her hospital bed in Atlanta days ago.
If Tanner thought for one second he could play the white knight and then disappear or go silent, he was sorely mistaken. They could be a team or she could be on her own, but he wasn’t going to just charge to her rescue and then dodge her. She deserved answers if he was going to barge into her life and smooth every path she had to walk down.
Damn it, why did she find that so appealing?
Melanie crossed to the open side door and stopped short. Tanner had his shirt off, sweat glistening on his muscles, and while that was a heart-stopping sight in itself, the object in front of him is what truly caught her breath.
He squatted down at the side of the same old wooden rocking chair he and Piper had been working on. But now the piece of furniture had taken on a completely new look.
Melanie watched as Tanner took his paintbrush over the curve of the base. She watched as he did each brushstroke with care, blending the seams of the pale yellow all together.
Folding her arms over her chest, Melanie leaned against the door. She must’ve made some sound because Tanner instantly jerked his gaze over his shoulder.
Just like every other time he caught and held her gaze, Melanie’s heart clenched, her stomach curled with nerves and desire. He was that deeply embedded into her soul, because all he had to do was look her way and she was completely under his spell.
Without a word, Tanner kept his gaze on her as he slowly rose to his feet. He held the paintbrush in one hand at his side as silence settled heavily between them. After a moment, he moved over to the workbench along the far wall and turned down the music before he came back to stand next to the chair.
“Is that for me?” she asked, nodding toward the rocker.
Tanner gave a slight shrug. “At first I wanted it to be for you. Piper and I were sanding it and that was my intention from the start of the project.” He glanced down at the paintbrush, then tossed it onto the plastic drop cloth on the garage floor. “I figured you’d want something to rock the baby to sleep with, but then I realized you could probably buy anything, and this is so old. I mean, it was used by my mother when I was a kid, so . . .”
Melanie’s heart clenched once again. The chair took on an entirely different meaning now. When she’d initially seen it, she’d assumed he was going to give it to her, but she had no idea this was the very chair he’d been rocked in as a child. She hadn’t realized how family heritage could mean so much. She had nothing like this, no special memories to pass down or anything she wanted to hand to her child.
“I wouldn’t want any other chair to rock our child in,” she murmured through the emotions clogging her throat.
Melanie took a step into the garage. “How long were you going to hide from me? Or are you still angry that I wasn’t honest with you?”
The muscles in his jaw clenched. She had no idea what he was thinking. Part of her wondered if he even had a clue what he was feeling. No doubt he was trying to sort everything out just like she was. But she wasn’t backing down.
Finally, he raked a hand through his messy hair and down along his stubbled jawline. “I’m not hiding,” he admitted. “I just had no idea what to say to you and I needed time.”
“Have you had enough?”
He hooked his thumbs through the belt loops on his paint-stained jeans. “Probably not, but I’m glad you’re here. Are you angry with me for going to your ex?”
“Depends,” she stated. “Does he have anything he can use on you to blackmail you or ruin your career?”
“Nothing.”
Relief settled deep within her. “Then I’m not upset.”
Tanner’s lips twitched as if he was holding back a grin. “I figured you’d be pissed with me for trying to protect you. I was trying to come up with a good defense.”
Oh, this man. He was as frustrating as he was lovable.
“Because you wanted to protect me? That would be a bit hypocritical wouldn’t it, considering I did the same for you?”
Tanner blew out a sigh and took a step toward her. “So where are we now?”
Melanie’s palms dampened the closer he got to her. “Depends on what you want. It also depends on how much of my past you’re ready to take on.”
“All of it.”
“To which part? What you want, or what you’re willing to take on?”
“Everything.” He took another step. “I want it all, Mel. I want our future, I want the present, I want your past. I want every damn thing I can take from you because I don’t see a scenario where you aren’t in my life. You came to me, which means you’re not walking back out. I need you.”
Melanie couldn’t help the tear-infused hiccup she let out. The swell of emotions had finally caught up with her and she couldn’t hold back.
His raw, honest words were more than she ever thought she’d hear from any man, let alone a man who loved her so much.
“Ironically, I can’t leave,” she said, laughing through her tears. “Jade dropped me off.”
Tanner closed the last bit of distance between them and slid his arms around her waist. “I guess that means you’re finally staying for more than just one night at a time?”
Melanie looped her arms around his neck and rested her forehead on his. “Looks like I’m staying for good.”
Tanner lifted her against him and spun her around. His mouth covered hers in a quick, heated kiss.
“I have two questions,” he muttered against her lips.
Melanie eased her head back and waited. As she stared back at this man she was head-over-stilettos for, she wondered how she’d gotten so lucky.
“Which spare room do we want to put this rocker in for the nursery?”
“The one right next to ours.” She threaded her fingers through his hair. “And the other question?”
“How soon can I make you my wife?”
Melanie stilled for a half second before she rained kisses all over his face. “Tonight, tomorrow. A Christmas wedding has a nice ring to it.”
Tanner turned and started walking. He hit the lights and closed the door behind him, all while carrying her. She circled her legs around his waist and dropped her forehead to his shoulder as he headed toward the back door of the house.
“I’m going to start getting heavier and you won’t be able to carry me,” she warned.
Tanner stopped at the back door. “I’ve told you before, I don’t care about the weight and I will carry you, Mel. I’ll always carry you.”
As he took her inside, she knew he meant those words in every way. He wasn’t just referring to physically. No, this man would carry her through life, and she was just independent yet stubborn enough to let him. Because they were a family now, they were a team.
And she’d finally come home. For good.