Still The One - Carrie Elks Page 0,16

folded it over, unfolding his reading glasses and perching them on the tip of his nose.

“Oh shoot, I’m late. But I want to hear more about this house.” Becca gave Tanner a meaningful look. “And by the way, I heard you weren’t running alone yesterday. Is that why you’re so keen to go out again this morning?”

“I run every day,” Tanner said mildly. Becca had no chance of making him uncomfortable. He’d lived most of his life with Gray, Cam, and Logan. All masters at making others squirm. She was a mere pretender.

She glanced at her watch again, her expression torn. “But not in the mornings. You usually run in the evenings. You always have.”

He shrugged. “I’ve got more time on my hands. I’m switching things up.”

Letting out a grunt of annoyance, Becca stomped out of the kitchen, waving her hand in goodbye and spilling coffee everywhere. Tanner smirked but said nothing.

“Who have you been running with?” Aunt Gina asked, sliding the eggs onto the crisp bread she’d toasted. She put the plate in front of his dad.

“Nobody you know.” He finished his coffee, putting his mug in the new dishwasher Gray had bought last Christmas. “I’m off, I’ll see you later.”

“Will you be back for lunch?” Aunt Gina called at him as he grabbed the backdoor handle.

“Probably not. Don’t make anything for me.” When he turned to shoot her his usual grin she was staring at him, her brows dipped. “You okay?”

“Yes…” She trailed off, but he could still feel her scrutiny. “Are you?”

“Yeah. I’m good.”

“Everybody’s good,” his dad mumbled into his coffee. “Now can I get on with eating my breakfast in silence?”

And that was why Tanner needed to find a house. If he was going to stay around here for a while, he’d need to get his own place before he ended up strangling his father.

Everybody knew he was too pretty to wear prison stripes.

Van rolled her neck around in a circle, trying to loosen her tight muscles. Walking onto the porch, she lifted her right foot onto the railing, leaning forward to feel the stretch through the back of her thigh as her hamstring protested the movement.

Her eyes lifted, and she saw Tanner leaning on the oak tree, his arms folded across his chest, making his biceps bulge beneath the sleeves of his tight running top. He was wearing shorts again, but this time she refused to look at his tan, defined legs. She didn’t need to anyway. They were etched into her memory.

Ignoring him, she stretched her left hamstring, counting to twenty before she turned and put her right foot on the rail, gracefully leaning forward until the fronts of her thighs began to loosen.

From the corner of her eye she could see he hadn’t moved an inch. Hadn’t said anything either. He was just staring at her with those dark eyes. She wasn’t going to blush – she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction. Instead, she stood and stretched to the right and the left, then jogged down the steps to the path.

As soon as she passed him, she heard his running shoes pound against the concrete flagstones, matching her stride for stride as she made her way down the street. When the sidewalk widened, he sped up just enough to run beside her, then slowed to match her gait once more.

She took the same route as yesterday, first into the town square, past the bandstand and benches that overlooked the flower beds that were overflowing with color. Then through the gate at the other side, past First Baptist Church and continuing on Main Road out of Hartson’s Creek.

“Remember when we let those mice loose during Sunday Service?” Tanner asked, glancing back at the church before they turned the corner.

Van lifted an eyebrow. “So we’re reminiscing about the old days now?” God, it had been funny watching everybody scream and lift their feet up. It had taken them all week to find enough mice to make it a good prank.

He shrugged, still matching her gait. “We can talk about whatever you want.”

She licked her lips and sped up just a little. She could already feel her lungs starting to ache. “How about you tell me why you’re back in Hartson’s Creek. Last I heard you were something big in New York.”

“You’ve been asking people about me?”

She could see his grin from the corner of her eyes. “It’s amazing how much people want to share whenever they see me in town. Maybe I have a sign