His fingers seemed to burn against her skin.She had to pull away.
But there was more truth she could give him.
“I’m afraid I’m ruining those kids.I’m not good with people, anyone can see that.”It was one of the things she liked about computers.With technology there was no emotional subtext.Coding was straightforward, logical, decisive.She didn’t have to worry about nuances and emotional harm.“If Melissa had any other choice, she wouldn’t have chosen me to care for Christian and Beth, believe me.”
He shook his head.“Anyone can tell that you love those children, Bree.They are not missing out on anything, especially not affection.”
“Then how come Christian cries all the time?”
She meant it as a distraction, but as the words came out, she realized it was a true fear.Why would Christian cry all the time if he was getting what he needed?
“Some babies just cry more than others.”
“Maybe he’s smart enough to subconsciously realize I’m not as good as his mother and that his developmental needs aren’t being met because his caretaker is emotionally stunted.”
Tanner chuckled before his hands cupped her face and his lips touched hers briefly, lightly, before pulling away.“Or maybe the kid is just colicky.”
He stood, backing away.Bree’s fingers touched her lips where his had just been.He’d meant it as a kiss of camaraderie, encouragement.A show of support.
What would he think if he knew that was the first time she’d ever been kissed by a man in her entire life?
Then maybe he’d be more likely to agree with her about the emotional stuntedness.
“I want to help your cousin, Bree,” he said.“And you.Because as long as they’re willing to hurt other people to force her to do what they want, you’re not safe.I can’t turn a blind eye to that.”
She couldn’t let him start digging into it.“Just give her more time.She’s gathering the evidence she needs, and when she has it, she’ll go to the police.”
Or they would run.Either way, it wouldn’t be his problem anymore.
His dark brows furrowed together.“Doing nothing, knowing there’s danger out there, doesn’t sit well with me.”
Now she stood and grabbed his hand.“I just need somewhere to lie low and keep the babies safe.Risk Peak is a good place to do that.No one is looking for me there.”
She thought about her paranoia and the eyes she always felt on her there.But that couldn’t be the Organization, so she would just have to keep it under control.
“Fine.”Tanner nodded.“I’ll let it go for now.But you can bet that I’m going to be sticking to you like glue, Bree Daniels.If someone is coming for you or those babies, they’ll have to go through me first.”
She didn’t know if the fluttering in her chest was relief or panic.
Chapter Eleven
Over the next two weeks, Bree learned what normal life was supposed to be like.
She felt like she was back in the sitcom again, except this time she had a little more understanding of her role.She worked, played with the babies and got a good night’s sleep each night.
But she had to keep reminding herself that this was just pretend.None of it—not the job, not the kids, not the man who came and walked her home from work every night—was real.
Eventually the season would be over and she would go back to what she had been before.
Alone.
“You’ve got an order up, Bree,” Dan called out from the kitchen.Bree had moved up from jack-of-all-trades to regular lunch shift waitress.It was better for everyone.The Andrewses didn’t have to pay her so much under the table, and she was able to make more money overall.Although now that she wasn’t preparing to leave town as soon as possible, money wasn’t so much of an issue.
But she wondered daily how it was going for Melissa.The phone had remained steadily silent in the two weeks since she’d last seen her cousin.Bree still had no way of getting in touch with her and no idea how the plan was going.
Not being an active part of the plan was difficult.Bree had always been someone who had plans, backup plans and backups to her backup plans.Ironically, it had been Michael Jeter who had first recognized that her mind worked like a flowchart.He’d been the one to help her develop that part of her brain, so that she was now able to see multiple scenarios at any given time.
She could see multiple scenarios for this situation also, but few of them ended well for Melissa, the twins or herself.
