Chapter 4

CHAPTERFOUR

Almeda’s frienddidn’t know CPR. Not only that but she seemed a little flummoxed when Tanner inquired about it. The roly-poly grandmother took offense, announcing she’d cared for “countless babies,” all of whom were now productive members of society. Tanner backed off immediately, telling himself he was overreacting. The woman at the sheriff’s office—Paige—had gotten into his head, that’s all. Whitney would be fine staying with his housekeeper’s friend.

His golf game, on the other hand, was not fine. Not even close. Tanner shot seven over par on a nine-hole course he knew like the back of his hand. He chalked it up to the distraction of the past few days. Not that he was sharing any of that info with his swing coach. The man’s lips tended to get loose in the bar after a few shots of Glenlivet. Tanner didn’t need him blabbing all about his personal life to one of the other guys on the tour. Or worse, a reporter.

“Are you sure your back is fit enough for this tournament?” His coach leaned on a golf club. “We can always sit this one out before we head to Augusta in two weeks.”

No way was Tanner sitting anything out. He was number one in the rankings and poised to show everyone who doubted him that he wasn’t just a playboy, flash-in-the-pan who didn’t take the game of golf seriously. Tanner took it seriously. He took everything seriously.

Too bad no one took him seriously.

Tanner had a reputation of being cold and aloof with a killer instinct on the course. That part was true. He played to win. Was there any other way? He let his work speak for itself. His reputation off the links was that of a spoiled wild child. He’d earned it the hard way, and he had the emotional scars to prove it. Despite the fact he’d cleaned up his act a few years ago, the rumors persisted. Tanner didn’t see the need to bother refuting them. The only person he was responsible for was himself. And he liked it that way.

“My back is fine,” he told his coach. “Everybody has an off day. Be happy I’m having mine today and not next weekend.”

The coach eyed Tanner shrewdly but wisely kept any further opinions to himself.

Two hours later, Tanner was in his home office, nursing a beer and watching Whitney play with her stuffed bunny. Unaware that he was spying on her, she danced around the screened porch to a silent tune only she could hear. She seemed none the worse for wear after this morning’s episode.

The child was a beautiful, even-tempered, well-mannered little girl. Not for the first time, he wondered how a mother could just abandon her kid. On a stranger’s doorstep, no less.

He fingered the vague note Whitney had arrived with for what felt like the hundredth time.

Please take care of my precious little girl. She is my world. Whitney is a good girl, and she won’t give you any trouble. I wouldn’t impose on you for her care if it wasn’t important. As soon as I get my life together, I’ll be back for her.

It was signed simply “Donella.”Not much to go on. Donella—or whomever left Whitney here—blacked out the mother’s name on the Nevada birth certificate. Tanner’s name was left intact, though. Ironic, since he wasn’t the girl’s father. A few simple calculations and he was certain. He’d been in Europe the year in which she was conceived, in a monogamous relationship with his fiancée, Shelby.

Too bad Shelby hadn’t been monogamous.

Not going there.

He took another pull from his beer. Sheriff Hollister had friends working in both local and federal law enforcement in Clark County, Nevada, the home of Las Vegas. Hopefully, one of them would turn up something on the birth certificate soon.

Ironically, Nevada was one of the few states where the birth records are closed. Only the principals named on the birth certificate can access the actual birth record containing the parents’ names. Tanner’s attorney was in the process of filing a motion with the court to unseal the file, but since the case wasn’t life or death, the court was taking its sweet time hearing his case.

Tanner swore violently.

Sonny entered the room and glanced in the direction of Tanner’s gaze. “Do you think Almeda’s friend is gonna work out?” he asked quietly.

Not you, too.

“She’ll be fine,” he replied, hoping like hell he could make himself believe it.

The caddy took a seat in the leather recliner. Both men fell silent as they contemplated the little girl. Tanner couldn’t tell for sure, but he thought she might be humming to her bunny.

“Do you think my parents cared if the nannies they hired to watch over Tristan and me were trained in CPR?” he asked.

Sonny paused with his can of Cheerwine halfway to his mouth. “I think your parents care about you very much.”

Tanner saluted his friend’s judicious answer with his beer. “That was never in doubt.”

Marcus and Blythe Gillette were doting parents—when they were around. His mother was the number-one-ranked female golfer in their native Australia, as well as Asia, while Tanner and his brother were growing up. When she wasn’t golfing, she was traveling around the world with their father, a wealthy developer who designed prestigious golf course communities, including the one in Chances Inlet where Tanner currently lived.

During school holidays, the two brothers were able to accompany their parents to wherever in the world they were working. Tanner gravitated to the links at a very young age. Tristan wasn’t as hardy as a child, often suffering debilitating asthma attacks. So it went that Tanner became his mother’s shadow, while Tristan, the older of the two boys, was quickly taken under their father’s wing as the heir apparent to Gillette enterprises. Each boy accepted his path in life as a given. There was never any animosity between them. They were roommates at boarding school and each other’s best friend.

“I think parents today spend too much time on the Internet. They worry about everything that could harm their kiddos. And that makes them hover more,” Sonny said, interrupting Tanner’s thoughts. “That’s why they call them ‘chopper parents.’”

“I think the term is ‘helicopter parent,’” Tanner replied with a grin. “My parents weren’t like that at all. They knew that when they were gone, Tristan and I had each other. We’d always take care of one another.”

If Tanner ever needed proof of how much their parents loved them, it was evident in the devastation they suffered—and were still suffering—at the loss of their oldest son. Their thirty-five-year marriage nearly collapsed under the strain. The constant media scrutiny didn’t help. Thankfully, they’d found solace in one another again and were enjoying a three-month cruise.

“Well, whatever the saying is,” Sonny continued. “It’s none of that nosey parker’s business, anyway.”

Tanner chuckled at Sonny’s description of Whitney’s defender from the sheriff’s office. Paige. They hadn’t exchanged names on New Year’s Eve, but he’d bet his best irons that her last name is Hollister. Anyone looking at them closely could connect the dots. Tanner had never seen anyone with the same faded-blue eyes as the sheriff—until Paige showed up in town.

Damn, she was stunning in her ire. A man didn’t forget a woman with her moxie, and it had taken Tanner the drive home from town to recall where they’d met. In the few moments they spent together outside the wedding, he’d been intrigued by her. Not to mention her decadent-looking mouth. The memory of her beguiling smile kept him up for hours that night, his body frustrated by not following-up on the spark that simmered between them.

She’d felt it, too. He’d seen the heat in her eyes. But she’d been running from something. Tanner joked about her running from the law. Some of the pieces fell into place today. Paige was running from the law that night, so to speak. For some unknown reason, she was hellbent on getting away from her father, the sheriff.

The question was why?

His mobile phone buzzed with a text.

Dr. Alden Bryant

Hey, mate. I should have the paternity test results any time now. In the meantime, I’ll be at the inn this afternoon. Why don’t you bring Whitney over to play with Emily. Kids often let down their guard when they are at play. Not to mention, my daughter is a force of nature. Perhaps Em can get Whitney to open up.

Tanner wasn’t tooconcerned with the DNA results. But the idea that the pediatrician’s daughter could get Whitney to open up was as good as any of the others they’d tried. He chalked-up the uptick in his heart rate to the hope Whitney might shed some light about her mum. It had nothing to do with the fact that, if Paige Hollister was still in town, she’d most likely be staying at the Tide Me Over Inn.

* * *

It turned out,Paige didn’t need to brace herself for meeting the McAlisters at all. The only two who showed up for tea were both pint-sized, with sticky faces and hands after inhaling a plateful of cookies and scones between them. So much for Patricia’s family being eager to meet her. Not that she wasn’t relieved to be among a familiar demographic.

“He’s not really family,” Emily, the daughter of Patricia’s oldest, Kate, announced around a mouthful of snickerdoodle.

“Am, too,” Henry, the tow-headed boy seated at the table with them, argued. “My mom is dating Ryan.”

Emily rolled her big, blue eyes. “My Gigi watches him after school every day because his mom works.”

“And because Ryan is dating my mom!” the little boy insisted loudly.

Paige got the sense this was a familiar debate between the two and it wasn’t going to get resolved today. The other guests in the salon began to cast leery looks their way.

“Who do the two dogs belong to?” she asked, hoping to change the subject to one less animated.

“The little scruffy one is mine.” Henry puffed his chest out proudly. “His name is Kringle.”

“His real name is Sparky, and he used to belong to Santa Claus,” Emily added.

“Really?” Paige expected Henry to counter Emily’s point.

Instead, both kids nodded earnestly.

“The big dog is Midas. He’s Uncle Gavin’s,” Emily continued. “Aunt Ginger had to go to the doctor to get the baby in her tummy measured. Gigi is watching him today because Midas was a bad dog and tore up some of the new baby’s things.”

“It’s not his fault.” Henry defended the dog. “He probably thought the baby toys were for him.”

The little girl sighed dramatically. “Babies are so annoying.”

“I hope you’re not referring to your new brother when you say that, my little one,” a very British voice said from behind Paige.

Emily’s eyes went wide before she jumped from her chair. “Daddy!”

Paige turned in her chair just in time to see a light-haired man wearing wire-rimmed glasses lift Emily high into the air. “Good gosh, Em.” He set the girl back on her feet and immediately reached for his lower back. “How many of granny’s cookies did you eat today?”

Henry snickered while Emily flounced back to her chair. The girl’s father winked at Paige. He didn’t look like he missed much time at the gym judging by the way his scrubs clung to the hard planes of his body.

‘Good gosh’ was right. What was in the water here that the men all looked so dang hot?

“You must be Paige. I guess that makes me your brother-in-law.” He extended his hand. “Alden Bryant, husband of Kate and father of this little sprite and her newly arrived brother, Maximus. Kate sends her regrets. Max had a particularly restless night last evening and they are both catching up on some needed sleep. She promises to pop by to say hello tomorrow.”

The words ‘brother-in-law’ had Paige too stunned to respond. She pumped her hand up and down and nodded, hoping like hell she was at least smiling. Were Patricia’s kids as eager as their mother to accept her as one of their own? They might be now, but surely not when her newly tarnished reputation caught up with her. Her stomach tightened up at the thought.

With any luck, Chet would fix her car quickly and she’d be out of town before then. Not that luck was exactly on her side lately. Still, a girl could hope.

“If you two are done with your snack,” Alden said. “I’ve brought a young friend over. She’s new to town and could use a few playmates.”

Emily scrambled out of her chair. “A girl? Yes! All Henry wants to do anymore is play baseball. Where is she?”

“She’s out on the veranda getting to know the dogs.”

Both kids made a beeline for the front porch.

“Be gentle, Emily,” Alden called after them. “Whitney is shy.”

“Maybe she could be our catcher,” Henry suggested.

Not that Paige heard him. She was too surprised by the name Alden mentioned. “Did you say ‘Whitney?’”

He seemed to hesitate, using the pause to scrutinize her from behind his glasses. “You know her?”

“We met this morning. She got lost in town.” She narrowed her eyes at the doctor. “Don’t tell me he pawned her off on you so he could go play golf?”

“Pardon?”

She didn’t bother waiting for a reply, instead following the children outside. Whitney was sitting in one of the child-sized Adirondack chairs. Emily and Henry stood on either side of her, bombarding her with questions.

As soon as she saw her, Whitney sprung from the chair and wrapped her arms around Paige’s thighs.

“Hello again, Miss Whitney.” Paige brushed her palm against the top of the little girl’s head, gently smoothing the hair back from her face. “I’m glad to see you, too.”

“Do you know her?” Emily demanded. “Is she one of your students?”

“Students?”

Paige flinched at the sound of Tanner Gillette’s voice. She whirled around to see him standing at the bottom of the steps, smartly dressed in freshly pressed chinos and a green golf shirt with an unfamiliar logo on his sculpted chest. The Oakley sunglasses he wore prevented her from seeing if the green in his shirt brought out the green in his eyes.

We. Don’t. Care, she chastised herself.

Both dogs stared at him just as intently, drool dripping from the Golden Retriever’s mouth. Paige had no trouble picturing the many women who did the same thing at the sight of the sexy Australian.

Tanner flicked a mangy tennis ball between his fingers. “You’re a teacher?”

“Aunt Paige teaches kindergarten,” Emily said, making Paige flinch a second time.

Since when had she become “Aunt Paige?”

“You don’t say?”

Happy barks filled the air when he launched the tennis ball across the lawn. Both dogs bounded down the steps in pursuit.

“My turn,” Henry yelled as he chased after them.

“Come on, Whitney. I’ll show you and your bunny the fairy garden Gigi and I made.” Emily tugged on Whitney’s shirt.

The little girl loosened her grip on Paige’s leg ever-so-slightly and tilted her chin up. The expression on her face was conflicted.

“Go see it,” Paige encouraged her. “I’ll be here when you get back. You can tell me all about it.”

Whitney hesitated for half a second before following Emily down the steps. The two girls linked arms and skipped across the lawn toward the gazebo.

Tanner stared after them. “Do you think she’ll do it?”

“Do what?”

He shoved his sunglasses up to the top of his head, pivoting his gaze back to her. Something flickered deep in her chest at the look of helplessness in his eyes. He charged up the steps. “Do you think she’ll tell you about the fairy garden? Do you think she’ll talk to you?”

He was so close she could smell the tangy scent of his aftershave. The wintergreen of a breath mint. She could see the burnt gold and green flecks winking in his eyes. The small cut where he’d nicked himself shaving. The sensory overload made her nerve-endings dance.

“I need her to talk.” His voice was hoarse with emotion. “I need her to tell me who her mother is. Where her mother is. I need to for the woman to come and take Whitney back so I can get back to my life. The one without kids.”

Wait, what?

“You…you don’t know who her mother is?” That was a piece of the puzzle Paige wasn’t expecting.

He edged in closer. “No.”

The porch felt like it was spinning. Her temples began to throb trying to process what he was saying. He didn’t know Whitney’s mother? Or he didn’t remember her? Was he one of those scummy guys who slept with so many women, he couldn’t remember who he might have fathered a child with? Dear God, was he just like Jon?

And damn it, why was this the type of man her body was continually attracted to?

“Why are all men such assholes?” she snapped.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

The sound of footsteps crunching on the gravel had Paige jumping back. Tanner’s heated stare effectively pinned her to the wall.

“Ah, there you are.” Her father’s gaze landed on Tanner before shifting to Paige. There was no way the intuitive man could mistake the tension crackling between the two of them. He hesitated for a brief moment before climbing the steps.

“I just spoke with Chet. As he suspected, the catalytic convertor in your car is totally shot. Because Ryan is co-owner of the garage, you get the family discount. I’m afraid even at cost, though, the parts are going to run you over a thousand dollars. He needs to know if he’s got the green light to go ahead.”

She closed her eyes and let the back of her head rest against the Hardy board. For the love of God, universe, why must you continue to pile on? She huffed out a sigh.

“It’s not like I have any choice.”

“Paige?” The concern in her father’s voice had her opening her eyes. “If you need help with anything, all you have to do is ask.”

Her dad was a good man. There was no doubting that. That didn’t mean she wanted to be in debt to him, though.

She’d been turning down his money since he offered to pay for college. Looking back, that probably wasn’t the wisest decision now that she was unemployable, and her student loan payment was half her monthly debt. But teenage Paige was full of pride. She wasn’t taking money from a man who hadn’t been a part of her life since she was three. And even then, he’d been deployed for most of those three years.

Adult Paige just wanted Lamar Hollister to know she’d turned out to be a strong, self-sufficient woman without his help. That she didn’t need a father in her life to turn out well-rounded. Of course, once he found out about her latest poor choices, he’d know that for the bullshit it was.

She shook her head. “Thank you. I’m good.”

The look in his eyes suggested he didn’t believe her once again. Thankfully, he dropped the subject. “I’ll let Chet know.” He slipped past her into the inn.

Paige blew out another slow breath before stepping away from the wall. She moved to follow her father inside where she could make a phone call in private. Her dad was one thing, but she wasn’t above asking her mother for a loan.

“Do you know CPR?”

Tanner’s sharply uttered question had her whirling around. “Wh-what?”

“It’s a simple question. Do you know how to perform CPR on a child?”

“Of course I do. I have to in order to teach at my school.” She didn’t bother mentioning it wasn’t her school any longer.

“Good. You’re hired.”

The throbbing in her head grew more intense. “I’m sorry, what?”

“I need someone to watch Whitney while I’m away at this week’s tournament. You’re a teacher. You know CPR and she seems to like you. Clearly, you’re stuck in town for a few days. Stay the week.”

Of all the…

“I don’t know what kind of ego trip you’re on, but I don’t recall applying for the job.” She jammed her fists into her hips. “And as soon as my car is fixed, I’m out of here. Not that it’s any of your business, but I have plans for the week.”

Sort of.

He took a step closer. “How are you going to pay for your car, Paige?”

She swallowed a gasp.

Tanner grinned malevolently. “You’re easier to read than the back of a cereal box. You don’t have the money to fix your car. Stay and watch Whitney this week and I’ll pay for it. Hell, the purse for the tournament includes a car for the champion. If I win—and I rarely lose—the car is yours.”

Her cheeks burned with embarrassment. And frustration. How dare he? She didn’t have to kowtow to his demands. The I-told-you-so’s that would no doubt follow groveling to her mother would be painful, that’s for sure. But Paige could survive them. It was preferable to sticking around Chances Inlet until her father and his new family figured out her shame.

She opened her mouth to tell him no, but he beat her to the punch.

“I was surprised when Patricia said today was the first time she met you.”

Her stomach dropped to her knees.

“I would have thought you two would have met on New Year’s Eve. When you and I met.” He must have sensed the blood in the water because he took a step closer. “Imagine how hurt she will be—how hurt your dad will be—when they find out you came all this way and never bothered to say hello.”

It was a hell of a threat. Judging by his smug grin, he knew it, too. Paige’s beef—if that’s what one would call it—was with her father. She would never want Patricia to be collateral damage. The woman had not done anything to warrant Paige hurting her feelings.

“You’re a dick, you know that?”

Tanner shrugged. “Most of the players on the tour feel the same way. That’s because I play to win. Every. Time.” He settled his Oakley’s back onto the bridge of his nose. “I need to be on the road by nine a.m. tomorrow. If you want to wait to start until morning, Sonny will be here at eight sharp to pick you up.”

* * *

Patricia slipped outonto the porch of the little carriage house tucked behind the inn. Darkness had settled around Chances Inlet, bringing with it a sea breeze, thankfully warm for late March. Lamar sat on the steps of the porch, quietly staring off into the distance.

She knew he had nights like this occasionally, where work, or worse, memories of his days in combat, threatened to overwhelm him. Most times, she left him alone in contemplative silence. Tonight was different, however. He wasn’t staring at nothing. His gaze was firmly focused on the window of the Glasgow room where his daughter had been holed up since teatime.

The tree frogs chorused as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders from behind and sat down on the top step. He sighed as he leaned his head back against her chest.

“I don’t know how you survived parenting five kids,” he said. “This not knowing what the hell is wrong with her is killing me.”

Patricia chuckled. “Waiting them out is hard, but it’s the only thing you can do when they are adults.”

“I honestly thought she came to see me. To meet you.”

She hated the heartache she heard in his voice. “Don’t be so quick to rule it out. Chances Inlet isn’t exactly on the way to Myrtle Beach. At least not when you’re driving from Chicago.”

“Mmm. My gut tells me she only meant to pass through. She didn’t count on her car breaking down.”

“Your gut, huh?” She kneaded his shoulders with her fingers.

“That and the fact Hayden recognized her. She’s been her before.”

Patricia’s hands stilled. “Is he sure? When?”

“The boy has an eidetic memory. He never forgets a face.” He tilted his back to look at her. “Paige was in Chances Inlet New Year’s Eve. She was at the weddings, Tricia.”

The rawness in his expression made her chest squeeze. “She came all this way just to watch from afar and then leave?” That didn’t seem right.

“Something or someone spooked her.” He fixed his eyes back on the inn. The lights in Paige’s suite clicked off. “And today, I got the distinct impression she’s lost somehow. Maybe even a little frightened.”

She kissed the top of his head. “Then she definitely came to Chances Inlet to see you.”

He harrumphed. “How do you figure that?”

“Because you’re her father. You may not have had a hand in raising her, but deep down, she knows you care. That you’ll fix whatever is bothering her.”

“How can you be so sure?” he whispered.

“Mother’s intuition.” She gently guided his head back against her thigh so she could see his eyes. “Trust me, Lamar. You’re the reason she’s here. I know how hard it is for a protector like you to be patient, but you’re going to have to wait for her to let you in.”

“What if she doesn’t?”

The desperation in his softly uttered words nearly broke her. All of her senses screamed Paige would come clean to her father. But they were just feelings. She wouldn’t ever lie to her husband as much as she wanted to ease his pain.

“You’ll still have me.” She pressed her lips to his. “Come to bed, Lamar,” she murmured against his mouth. “I’m sure we can find something to do that will take your mind off Paige for the time being.”

She was relieved when, after a slight hesitation, he stood and reached down a hand to help her to her feet. He pulled her against his broad chest.

“Have I told you today how much I love you?” he asked as his lips hovered above hers.

“I’d rather you come inside and show me.”

With a low chuckle and a passionate kiss, he did just that.