“I want to show you one more thing.”
Past the sun-drenched flower field, Tanner leads me down the hill and through a wall of bushes and trees, and I hear it just before I see it. A rushing creek that’s big enough to almost pass as a river.
The summer heat seems to have left its shoes by the door and has made itself smaller here under the canopy of trees. The water sparkles under the little stray threads of sunlight that sneak in through fluttering leaves. Time is frozen here, I’m sure of it.
“Is this still your property?” I ask as we stand on a dirty sand shore watching the water slowly tumble by.
Tanner takes my flowers and sets them down at our feet and then starts stripping off his clothes.
“Yeah. The creek itself winds through the outskirts of GreenBranch and even crosses back by Lauren and Rhett’s place. But this is where it’s the deepest.”
“What are you doing?”
“Weare swimming,” he says and kicks his jeans to the side. “Come on.”
“What if someone?—”
“I have no neighbors. Trust me.” He steps into the water and begins walking backwards, his eyes never leaving mine.
“Tanner.”
“Hannah.” He tilts his head, almost reprimanding me. “Trust. Me. This is a lot less scary than a Ferris Wheel.”
I let out a shaky sigh and push any insecurity aside. Making love in a dark bedroom is one thing. Standing on the shore of a creek, naked, in the mid-morning sun is a whole other. But I do. I trust him. So, I shed my dress and drop it into the dirt alongside his clothes and step into the cold water as goosebumps swarm my skin.
He chuckles. “It doesn’t sit still long enough to get very warm until end of summer.”
I breathe through the shock of the cold as I go deeper and deeper. Pushing myself to keep going even though my insides are screaming to get back into the warm air. My panties the only thing I wear, yet Tanner’s scorching gaze seems to cover me up just fine.
I dip under the surface and sink into the cold water. My body hums as Tanner and I seem to be pulled to each other again and again. The water doesn’t feel any warmer, but my body can’t seem to cool down either. The look in Tanner’s eyes has me burning.
“There she is,” Tanner murmurs as I approach him finally. He brushes my hair back out of my face and cups my cheeks. “How ya’ feeling Mama?”
His eyes dance around my face and it’s only now I realize Inever put makeup on this morning, but the look in his eye is anything but disappointed. He rubs his thumb over my cheek before pressing his smiling lips against mine. When his teeth graze my bottom lip, my body pushes harder against him as I try to swallow a moan.
“Don’t do that,” he grumbles against my lips.
I pull back and meet his heated gaze in confusion.
“You’re stifling your moans. Don’t you dare stop making your sounds now,” he quietly demands. “Nobody can hear us. But even if they could I wouldn’t give a damn if they sat and listened.”
Desire, which never seems to completely go dormant where Tanner is concerned, courses through me yet again as I wrap my arms around his backside and pull him into me. “Are we going to make it back to your bed in time?”
Now it’s his turn to pull back and give me a devilish smirk. “We’re going to find out. Come on.” He tugs me up out of the water and we barely make it in the front door before our clothes are back off and he has me pressed up against the wall in the front hallway.
I liked these white paneled walls before, but now, every time I run my hands along them, I will think of the groans coming from Tanner as his hips work up against mine.
33
“I’m going to water the hanging baskets on the porch if you want to shower the creek off you.” Tanner kisses my cheek. “There’s a toothbrush under the sink you can have and leave here.” He winks before slipping out of bed and leaving me in his bed.
His bed is centered between two small windows, covered with a white comforter and is set on an old brass frame. His Detroit baseball hat hangs from one corner post and there is a stack of Lauren and Rhett’s books on his nightstand, their spines cracked and pages curled.
I crawl out from under the covers and step over to his antique dresser. An oak wooden tray lays on top with some loose change, a photo of him and Mayben, and a ticket. The ticket from Winnie’s recital. He has a closed lid hamper in the corner, thin white curtains over the windows, and the wood paneled walls are painted white up here too. It’s lived in, homey and every bit Tanner Auclair.
The bathroom is outdated with an antique mirror hung over the metal framed sink. I open the curtain to the clawfoot tub, and I crank the cross-handled faucet. I don’t think I have ever enjoyed ashower more. The only reason I even get out is to save Tanner the tiniest bit of hot water. I wrap my hair and body in a towel, find said toothbrush, use it, and drop it into the cup next to his.
When I step into the room, Tanner is shuffling through his dresser shirtless. Just like the rest of him, his back is sure and strong. My nail marks still trace up and down the breadth of his shoulders.
