One in a Million (14 page)

T
anner would have liked to follow after Callie. He’d kiss that annoyance right off her mouth, buy her dinner, and then take any and all crumbs of affection she was willing to throw his way.

But he couldn’t. He needed to pick Troy up and grill him. The day before he’d come home with the obvious markings from a fight, and no amount of badgering had gotten him to spill his guts.

Today Tanner was trying a different tactic. He had an afternoon free from work and planned to take Troy out on the boat.

And yes, he was reduced to flat-out bribing the kid.

He pulled up to Lucille’s, and Troy slunk out, walking toward the truck like he was heading toward his own execution. He shut the door, seat-belted up, and then slouched, staring straight ahead.

“Hey,” Tanner said.

Troy grunted.

“You have an okay day?” Tanner asked. Jesus. Listen to him. Ward Cleaver. Not that it mattered, all he got was another grunt. “Troy, look at me.”

Troy huffed out a put-upon breath and looked at him. “What?”

“Just checking to see if you had any other new bruises,” Tanner said.

“Funny.”

“Not being funny,” Tanner said. “I really wanted to see.” He drove them to the harbor and parked. “Come on.”

Troy followed without question. This was more out of sullenness than any sort of blind obedience. The kid didn’t speak until they were on the boat and Tanner was pushing off and steering them away.

It was one of those startlingly gorgeous blue days. Skies so blue it hurt to look at them. White cotton-ball clouds scattered to the east. Choppy seas dotted with whitecaps, slapping against each other in a constant beat. Tanner felt at home here, maybe more than any other place. He wanted that for Troy.

The teen had come out of himself a little bit and was taking in his surroundings as well. Calm. Alert.

Which wasn’t to say he was happy. He wasn’t.

And Christ, Tanner hated that. He wanted to make it better more than he’d ever wanted anything else in his life. Out in the middle of the harbor, he handed over the wheel to Troy.

“Me?” Troy asked, straightening up.

“You,” Tanner said. “You think you’re ready to get us out of the harbor?”

“Yeah.” Troy paused. “Why?”

“Why what? Why are you sometimes a butt-munch?” Tanner shrugged. “No idea.”

Troy bit his lower lip, looking nervous.

“What?” Tanner said.

“Nothing.”

“It’s something. Just say it.”

Troy sighed. “I’m not doing football.”

“I know that.”

“You know?” Troy asked. “Callie told you?”

Tanner blinked. “No, the coach told me. You told Callie?”

“Yeah.”

Tanner stared at him, stuck between being grateful his son had been able to confide in Callie and jealous as hell that it hadn’t been him.

And why hadn’t Callie told him herself?

“It’s not because of the stupid coach’s kid,” Troy said defensively. “It’s because I don’t want to.”

“That’s a relief,” Tanner said.

Troy stared at him. “It’s a relief? You were the football star. I thought you wanted me to follow in your footsteps.”

“Hell no,” Tanner said. “In fact, please don’t follow in my footsteps. You going to tell me about the bruises?”

Troy looked out at the water, his stance natural, easily balancing himself on the choppy water like he’d been born to it. “You wouldn’t get it.”

Tanner let out a low laugh. “Right. Because I’ve never been fifteen.”

“Because you owned that school.” Troy looked at him. “I’m not that kid. I didn’t grow up here. I’m not a star athlete. I’m the new kid. And I’m a little different.”

“Different is good,” Tanner said. “So is standing up for yourself.”

“It’s not like I’m alone,” Troy said. “I have friends.” He met Tanner’s eyes, his own shadowed.

Tanner tried to read them but the kid was good. “You’ve been standing up for your friends.”

Troy nodded once.

“Good,” Tanner said. “One more thing.”

Troy tensed. “Yeah?”

Tanner put his hand on the kid’s shoulder. “The way you’ve got your friends’ back? I want you to know that I have yours in the same way. And I expect you to let me know when you need me to do something more.”

Troy seemed to grapple with that a moment and then nodded again.

Tanner helped him guide the boat out of the harbor. They then took the water exhilaratingly fast and hard, and both were grinning like fools when they finally returned to the docks two hours later.

Troy helped tie everything down and lock up without being asked, already knowing the drill.

When they were back in the truck heading home, Tanner said, “You did good.”

“On the boat?”

“That too.”

Troy stared straight ahead, but Tanner thought maybe he was smiling just a little bit.

Callie hung out at her grandma’s that night. She told herself it was because she was worried for Lucille, but that wasn’t it.

Callie wasn’t worried about her grandma. Nope, she was pretty sure her grandma was saner than all of them put together. The truth is, Callie needed the comfort of being there. Period.

Just after dinner, Lucille squeezed Callie’s hand. “Stay with me tonight?”

“Of course,” Callie said, even as she knew it was a pity date. But a bunch of Lucille and Mr. Wykowski’s friends came over, and they brought out the big guns—Kahlua and milk.

Which meant that
Jeopardy
was a rowdy affair, after which Callie fell asleep on her grandma’s couch.

And woke up with a man with a jackhammer inside her head. She drove home and told herself it didn’t matter if Tanner had come looking for her last night. They weren’t a thing.

But still, as she walked into her building, she looked around as if she could possibly see signs of him having been by.

As she was unlocking her door, Becca peeked out and smiled. “I was just coming to see you,” she said. “Two things. One, remember when we made a list of things to do for my wedding and I insisted on handling a lot it myself? Well, with the big bachelor/bachelorette party coming up this weekend, I forgot all about one of the things I said I’d do.”

“What’s that?” Callie asked.

“Booking the B&B for the weekend of the wedding for our out-of-town guests.” She grimaced. “I know, it’s a biggie. But I’m banking on the fact that this is really off season and the place will still have rooms. I also want to get my mom and cousin a day at the spa there. Do you think it’s too late?”

“Let me handle it for you, okay?” Callie asked. “Consider it done.”

“Thanks,” Becca said gratefully. “And the second thing is, I’m planning to sell my furniture since I’ll be moving into Sam’s soon. I wanted to see if there’s anything you need before I sell it. A couch? Microwave? More socks for the vents?”

“Ha,” Callie said. “No need for those, I don’t think.” She ignored Becca’s frown. “And no furniture, thanks. I don’t know how long I’ll be staying so I don’t want to acquire a bunch of new things.”

Becca smiled.

“What?”

“Well, I said the very same thing when I first came to Lucky Harbor. And then I met Sam.”

“Yes, but Sam’s taken,” Callie said.

“You never know who might turn into your Sam.”

“Pretty sure I don’t have a Sam in my near future,” Callie said.

Becca chewed on her lower lip. “Are you sure? Because you might have already met him.”

Callie ignored the little squish her heart did at this thought. “Nope.”

“I was trying to be subtle here,” Becca said. “But I’m just going to come right out and say it, okay?”

Callie sighed. “Could I stop you?”

“Definitely not. Look, we know Tanner’s been sleeping here with you. And I’m real glad because other than his temporary assery at the Love Shack, I think he’s an amazing guy.”

She could deal with this, Callie told herself. Probably. All she had to do was a little gossip control. “It’s not what it looks like.”

“Really? Because what it looks like is that you finally decided to let your hair down and have a good time—which after how hard you’ve been working, you totally deserve. And it looks like that good time came in the form one of extremely sexy ex–Navy SEAL.”

“Okay,” Callie said. “So maybe it’s exactly what it looked like.”

Becca laughed. “Yay!”

“But it’s just a good time.”

“Whatever you say,” Becca said with a secret smile.

Callie shook her head. She gave up.

“I’ve gotta run,” Becca said. “Breakfast tomorrow?”

“Yeah, sure,” Callie said. “Um…that’s it? You’re not going to grill me for more info?”

“Yes, but I’m saving it for breakfast. Mostly because Olivia’s much better at getting info than me.” She flashed a grin when Callie groaned.

“I really don’t have info on what’s happening,” Callie said. “Or not happening.”

“Honey, that’s the very best kind of story.” Becca squeezed Callie’s hand. “And don’t worry. Sam mentioned a few days ago that Tanner’s been wearing the same silly grin you’re wearing. So there’s got to be a bunch of good stuff to tell.”

“Sam said what?”

Becca’s grin widened. “I believe his exact words yesterday were ‘Tanner’s good for shit today. He’s so relaxed I had to check him for a pulse.’”

Callie bit her inner cheek.

“Sam asked him if he’d just gotten a massage or something,” Becca said, “and Tanner apparently said ‘or something.’ So then Sam told me he wants a massage.”

No sense in denying it. She’d covered the vents but she couldn’t cover the truth; it was probably all over her face. “It’s a temporary sort of thing. Very temporary.”

“I don’t believe that,” Becca said. “You guys can’t keep your eyes off each other, and the chemistry…it’s like watching fireworks whenever you’re together. I really thought this could turn into something more.”

“I don’t want more.”

Becca didn’t look convinced, so Callie took her hand. “It’s true. I know you’re new in love and think it’s for everyone, but it’s not. I’ve been there, I know.”

“Then he wasn’t the right one,” Becca said.

“Definitely he wasn’t,” Callie agreed.

“But how will you know if Tanner’s the right one if you don’t give him a shot? What if he’s the One, Callie?”

She brushed that off, but as she went about her day, the question stuck with her.

What if Tanner was the One?

Did she even believe in the One?

Once upon a time she had, but she’d changed. Hadn’t she? The question stuck with her as she stopped by the B&B to book the place for Becca’s wedding weekend. She met Maddie, the innkeeper, who took her reservations, and then Maddie introduced her sister Chloe, who ran the day spa.

“Heard you’re seeing Tanner Riggs,” Chloe said.

Callie blinked. “Is there a sign written on my forehead?”

Chloe laughed. “No. It’s your grandma. She’s on a mission to see you matched. She considers herself somewhat of a master on the subject.”

“She’s a master at the crazy,” Callie muttered.

Chloe laughed. “That too.” Her smile softened as someone came into the room. Callie turned and found Sheriff Thompson standing there.

He wasn’t dressed like a cop at the moment. Jeans, a University of Washington sweatshirt, and battered running shoes, and he wore them with the same authority that he’d worn his uniform. The gun at his hip might have helped there. He strode directly to Chloe, pulled her in, and laid a kiss on her that had the temperature in the room skyrocketing.

Callie studied the ceiling and then her toes, wondering if ridiculous displays of romance were in the water or something. Good Lord. Was everyone in this town starry-eyed?

A year later Sawyer pulled back, playfully tugged on a strand of Chloe’s hair, and smiled into her face. “Later.”

Then he winked at Callie and left.

“Sorry,” Chloe said, sounding dreamy. “Where were we?”

When Callie left the B&B, she drove to her grandma’s to relieve Troy of babysitting duty.

She found him playing poker with her grandma and Mr. Wykowski.

“Pay up,” Troy said to Lucille, holding out his hand.

Lucille turned to Callie. “You going to let him cheat an old lady out of her social security?”

“You’re the one who cheated,” Mr. Wykowski said to her mildly.

“How much money are we talking?” Callie asked.

“Not money.” Mr. Wykowski went to the counter and brought back a family-size bag of potato chips. “I believe you won these fair and square,” he said, and presented the whole thing to Troy.

Lucille sighed. “I hope they go straight to your hips,” she said to the kid.

Troy just grinned and shoved one in his mouth. “Mmmm.”

“She’s still crazy,” Troy said when he and Callie were in the car, same as he always did. But he no longer looked like he meant it, and since she’d just watched him and her grandma do some complicated handshake in good-bye, she didn’t take offense. She drove him home and, just before he got out of the car, turned to him. “Troy—”

“I told him. About what happened at school.” He touched his bruised jaw. “I wanted you to know that.”

“Good,” she said relieved. “And the play?”

“I’m working up to that.”

“And the girl?”

“That too.”

“Work faster,” she said.

She watched him vanish inside Tanner’s house. He’d looked…better. Not exactly chipper, but not quite as unhappy as usual either.

Progress.

She wasn’t sure why she felt so invested in him, but it wasn’t just her feelings for Tanner, she knew that much. Troy had wormed his way into her heart all on his own.

She picked up Chinese take-out and drove back to her grandma’s.

“I want you to know I exercised restraint in today’s social media posts,” Lucille said as they ate.

Mr. Wykowski laughed, but when Lucille looked at him, he turned it into a cough.

“Restraint?” Callie asked her grandma warily.

“Yep. I haven’t posted about you or Tanner in days. I’m leaving things alone.” She beamed. “See? Restraint.” She paused. “And maybe a little self-preservation. I didn’t want you to pull the plug on me.”

“I wouldn’t do that,” Callie said in horror.