Understanding fills his gaze, and his expression softens. “Right, I promise I’ll take good care of her,” he assures me, walking to the passenger side to let me in. “I’m going to get my bag and shit from my truck. I’ll be right back.” He gives me a swift kiss before slamming my door. As I wait for him to return, my cell phone vibrates, and I open it up to find multiple messages from Jade asking if I’m okay. Instead of sending her a text back, I dial her number and listen to it ring as Tanner puts his stuff in the trunk.
“You know, it’s really annoying that I can’t just drive out to your house to check on you when you don’t answer your phone,” Jade greets in my ear, and I smile.
“Sorry, I ended up having to get stitches yesterday, and by the time I got back to the lodge, the only thing I wanted to do was shower and sleep.”
“You had to get stitches?” I hear the worry in her voice. “What happened?”
“Long story short, I tripped, fell, and cut my hand open. I’m fine, though,” I assure her.
“You’ve always been clumsy, so I’m not even a little surprised. So when will you be home?”
“Umm . . .” I look at Tanner as he opens the driver’s side door and gets in. “In a week.”
“Oh. I thought you planned on driving back today.”
“That was the plan before, but I’m going to spend a week with Tanner and—”
“Sorry,” she says, cutting me off before I can explain who Tanner is. “What did you say? I think I heard you wrong. It sounded like you said you were spending a week with a man named Tanner.”
“That’s what I said,” I say as he starts the engine, which transfers the call to the car stereo system. Sammy might be old, but she has been updated a lot, just not on the outside. “Please don’t start freaking out.”
“You’re going to stay in Montana for a week with a man you don’t know, and you don’t want me to freak out?” Jade’s voice rings through the interior, and I smile awkwardly at Tanner.
“I do know him,” I say with a sigh, trying not to get frustrated with her. “I just spent an entire week with him. He’s not some random man I met at a bar.”
“Okay, but you still don’t know him, Cybil, and this is so not like you. I mean, is this because Galvin and Chris got married?” she asks, and Tanner’s hand on the steering wheel tightens, turning his knuckles white.
“Are you kidding me?” I take a breath to make sure that I choose my next words wisely. “I agreed to this week with Tanner before I even knew about Galvin and Chris, so no, this isn’t because of them. I’m staying because I really like him. I like spending time with him, and I’m not ready to leave yet. Plus, I planned on taking two weeks off, so I don’t have to rush home.”
“Mom and Dad are going to lose their minds,” she says, and I can picture her rubbing her forehead or stomping around in her store.
“Probably,” I agree, not looking forward to calling them and wondering how long I can put it off. “Then again, they were okay that time you snuck off to Cabo with that guy you met at the airport when you were supposed to be coming home from seeing your grandma. So even if they are mad, they’ll get over it eventually.”
“That and this are not even close to the same thing,” she hisses as Tanner drives us down the tree-lined dirt road away from the lodge, moving one hand to wrap around my thigh.
“How is this any different?”
“Because you’re Cybil. You don’t do wild shit like that, and I don’t even know this guy. He could be—”
“You’re on speakerphone right now,” I say, cutting her off before she says something that will embarrass me more than I already am. “And I’m not doing anything wild. I’m spending more time with someone I just spent a week with.”
“You’re spending time with a man,” she says, seemingly unconcerned that he can hear everything she’s saying.
“Yes,” I agree. “And?”
“You’ve never even talked to a man besides Galvin before. Sorry, but this is all a little much for me.”
“I was always with Galvin, so I had no reason to,” I point out.
“You’ve lost your mind,” she whispers, and I let my head fall back against the headrest. One thing I haven’t missed this last week is everyone questioning my judgment and thinking I can’t make decisions for myself.