dinner and he turned on some music.
“Long day…” Tanner said leaning his head back on the sofa. He was sitting with his back against one end and I was on the other end.
“That’s an understatement,” I said exhausted. It was late in the evening when we ate dinner and now it was bedtime. But my mind was still racing, and I knew I couldn’t sleep yet.
“Can I ask you something?” Tanner asked smiling.
“Sure…”
“Would you have let me kiss you?”
“Maybe,” I whispered looking down at my hands. “But, it would have been wrong.”
“Wrong? Why would it have been wrong?” Tanner reached over across the small sofa and tipped my chin up with his fingers.
“Because my husband just died… and I promised…”
“A husband who was a jerk and an abuser… And you promised what?” Tanner asked.
“I promised myself that I would never let myself fall for another man again. I can’t risk it,” I responded.
“So your plan is to go through life without loving any man again?”
“Yep.” I snipped turning my head toward the front door.
“And how is that working for you?”
“Not very well right now…” I said smiling. “But there is a difference between love and lust.”
“Oh… are you lusting after me, pretty lady?”
“No, I am not… Just the heat of the moment…”
“It’s in the heat of the moment when living begins, Shannon. How can you live when you are closed into a box that some abuser built for you?” Tanner asked.
“Tanner, I just met you. It’s been a whirlwind of a week for me. Don’t push, please…” I pleaded looking into his eyes again.
“I don’t mean to push you, Shannon. Really I don’t. I just see things in you that you don’t see. I don’t want to see you waste your life away by putting yourself into an invisible prison. That’s what John wanted…”
“You sound very sure of that,” I responded with my eyebrows furrowed. “Did you ever meet John?”
The silence was deafening. Tanner looked at me for a moment and stood up. He walked over to a small desk near the front door and pulled out an envelope.
He sat back down and was on the edge of the sofa looking down at the paper.
“I have to tell you something about myself, Shannon,” he said quietly. Suddenly, my stomach knotted up because I knew I wasn’t going to like what I was about to hear.
“Okay…”
“When Tina took Emmy, I needed an attorney. I had been trying to find her on my own, but I couldn’t. I called the law office and was paired with John. We only ever spoke on the phone. I told him that I didn’t have a lot of money, but I wanted to find my daughter. We talked a few times about it, and one day John called me. He said he had a job for me to do, and that if I did it well, he would find my daughter for free,”
“A job?”
“John had been diagnosed with his illness by then. He knew his days were numbered. He also knew that I had a lot of experience with horses. He told me about this place and said that I could live here and work with the horses…”
“Yes, I know that part… But, what is in the envelope?” I asked.
Tanner shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He sighed and shook his head to himself.
“I told you that John had a trust fund. That fund pays for a lot of the expenses of living here. What I didn’t tell you is that John actually wanted me to do another job for him after he died. He wanted me to hurt you…” Tanner said as he handed me the envelope. The apologetic look on his face startled me.
I slowly opened the envelope and took a deep breath to steel myself for whatever was inside. The contents shocked me. In it, I found a letter from John to Tanner spelling out the details of how he was to pretend to fall in love with me, lure me in and then dump me at the altar. He was to have a letter waiting for me back in the room at the
“Long day…” Tanner said leaning his head back on the sofa. He was sitting with his back against one end and I was on the other end.
“That’s an understatement,” I said exhausted. It was late in the evening when we ate dinner and now it was bedtime. But my mind was still racing, and I knew I couldn’t sleep yet.
“Can I ask you something?” Tanner asked smiling.
“Sure…”
“Would you have let me kiss you?”
“Maybe,” I whispered looking down at my hands. “But, it would have been wrong.”
“Wrong? Why would it have been wrong?” Tanner reached over across the small sofa and tipped my chin up with his fingers.
“Because my husband just died… and I promised…”
“A husband who was a jerk and an abuser… And you promised what?” Tanner asked.
“I promised myself that I would never let myself fall for another man again. I can’t risk it,” I responded.
“So your plan is to go through life without loving any man again?”
“Yep.” I snipped turning my head toward the front door.
“And how is that working for you?”
“Not very well right now…” I said smiling. “But there is a difference between love and lust.”
“Oh… are you lusting after me, pretty lady?”
“No, I am not… Just the heat of the moment…”
“It’s in the heat of the moment when living begins, Shannon. How can you live when you are closed into a box that some abuser built for you?” Tanner asked.
“Tanner, I just met you. It’s been a whirlwind of a week for me. Don’t push, please…” I pleaded looking into his eyes again.
“I don’t mean to push you, Shannon. Really I don’t. I just see things in you that you don’t see. I don’t want to see you waste your life away by putting yourself into an invisible prison. That’s what John wanted…”
“You sound very sure of that,” I responded with my eyebrows furrowed. “Did you ever meet John?”
The silence was deafening. Tanner looked at me for a moment and stood up. He walked over to a small desk near the front door and pulled out an envelope.
He sat back down and was on the edge of the sofa looking down at the paper.
“I have to tell you something about myself, Shannon,” he said quietly. Suddenly, my stomach knotted up because I knew I wasn’t going to like what I was about to hear.
“Okay…”
“When Tina took Emmy, I needed an attorney. I had been trying to find her on my own, but I couldn’t. I called the law office and was paired with John. We only ever spoke on the phone. I told him that I didn’t have a lot of money, but I wanted to find my daughter. We talked a few times about it, and one day John called me. He said he had a job for me to do, and that if I did it well, he would find my daughter for free,”
“A job?”
“John had been diagnosed with his illness by then. He knew his days were numbered. He also knew that I had a lot of experience with horses. He told me about this place and said that I could live here and work with the horses…”
“Yes, I know that part… But, what is in the envelope?” I asked.
Tanner shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He sighed and shook his head to himself.
“I told you that John had a trust fund. That fund pays for a lot of the expenses of living here. What I didn’t tell you is that John actually wanted me to do another job for him after he died. He wanted me to hurt you…” Tanner said as he handed me the envelope. The apologetic look on his face startled me.
I slowly opened the envelope and took a deep breath to steel myself for whatever was inside. The contents shocked me. In it, I found a letter from John to Tanner spelling out the details of how he was to pretend to fall in love with me, lure me in and then dump me at the altar. He was to have a letter waiting for me back in the room at the
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