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Tamed By Tanner

Page 11

by Loni Ree

“I’d rather get a root canal without anesthetic.”

She just smiles, but there’s steel under it. “I’ll talk to Dr. Peterson’s office and make sure they don’t offer you anesthetic the next time you have dental work.”

Goddamnit. I can see I’m fighting a losing battle. “Fucking hell. If I go to this one class, will you give it a rest?”

She shrugs, sips, and basks in her win. “For a while.”

Poppy returns with our food, sets it down on the table, and retreats before I can say thank you. The burger smells amazing, but I’m suddenly not hungry.

Maggie picks up her fork and says, “Come on. It isn’t going to kill you.”

“We’ll see about that.” When our brothers hear I’m going to a goddamn yoga class, they’ll never let me hear the end of it. A fucking fate worse than death.

She points her fork at me. “One class, Tannie Poo. If you can sit through a three-hour rodeo planning meeting with Hudson’s PowerPoint slides, you can do sixty minutes of yoga.”

“What do I wear to a fucking yoga class?” God. I feel like a fish out of water.

“Wear athletic shorts and a T-shirt.” She takes a bite of her salad and mutters, “Duh.”

“Fuck. I already regret this.” I try for grumpy, but it just comes off as weak.

She grins. “I’ll pick you up at three-thirty. Don’t make me come inside and drag you out.”

“Fine.” I dig into my burger, chew, and say through a full mouth, “But if this chick tries to get me to chant or hum or find my inner child, I’m walking out.”

“Star’s a doll,” Maggie says. “Saoirse and I go all the time. You’ll like it.”

“I seriously doubt that.” But the fight is over, and we both know it.

We eat in companionable silence, and I have to admit—the burger helps. So does the sense that, for the first time in days, my sister’s more worried about my spine than about manipulating my life choices. Almost.

At the end, she leans across and grabs my wrist, squeezing just a little. “You’ll feel better, Tanner. Just trust me.”

I roll my eyes but don’t pull away. “I’m only going because I’m tired of your nagging.”

She grins, sharp and triumphant, then lets go. “Good. Because the alternative was getting Hudson, Silas, and Cole involved. And you know what happens then.”

I shudder. “God help us all.”

Poppy returns with the check, and I pay it before my sister can pull out her purse. Maggie winks as she stands. “Thanks for lunch. See you tomorrow, yoga boy.”

The minute she’s out the door, I look down at the business card again, sigh, and stuff it into my pocket. Fucking hell.

I hop in my truck and wince as my ass touches the seat and pain radiates up my spine. At least now it’s a dull ache and not the sharp shooting pain I’ve been dealing with.

I’m walking in my front door when my phone starts buzzing in my pocket. Baby Shark echoes through the hallway, and I know it’s Silas.

Fuck my life.

I debate sending him to voicemail, but I know he’ll just keep calling until I can’t take it anymore. So, I swipe to answer.

He doesn’t even say hello.

“Dude. Yoga? Seriously?”

There’s so much glee in his voice, I want to drive to his house and deck him.

I don’t dignify that with a response. Just grunt and kick my boots off as my spine screams in protest.

Silas cackles, loud and evil. “Maggie just texted me. Said you’ve got a hot date with some hippie guru tomorrow.”

My fucking sister doesn’t keep anything secret from her twin. I roll my eyes. “It’s one class. The chiropractor recommended it to help with my back problems.”

Silas laughs so hard he actually snorts. “Shit, I’d pay money to watch that.”

I pinch the bridge of my nose. “It isn’t a big deal. Maggie’s dragging me. She already RSVP’d, and it’ll be one hour of my life. If it works, great. If not, no biggie.”

“I can’t wait to tell Hudson and Cole. I’m texting it in the family group chat right now.”

Motherfucking pain in the ass.

“Do whatever makes you happy,” I groan, kicking my boots into a heap by the door and shuffling toward the kitchen. I pull a water bottle from the fridge and drain half of it in one go.

Weirdly, I’m actually looking forward to the yoga class. Once it’s over with, I can move on to finding the gorgeous blonde goddess who’s taken over my mind and dreams.