“Fairfax thinks I’m planning on building a house here.”
She eyed him carefully. “But you’re not?”
He slowly shook his head. Then he put his hand on the top of the peeling fence and vaulted over it, landing on the field with a soft thud. “Come on,” he said, holding his hand out to her.
A wicked grin formed on her lips. “Are you getting brave, trespassing in your old age, Hartson?”
“It ain’t trespassing if I own it, Butler,” he said. “Now are you coming or what?”
She rolled her eyes and started to climb the fence, clearly preferring that to vaulting over. Impatiently, he grabbed her waist when she reached the top, then lifted her over until she was in front of him.
Damn, she was light. And warm. And now his hands wanted to feel more of her. The long grass was swaying like corn in the field, the fresh smell wafting up as they made their way through it.
“You’re gonna need a good lawn mower,” Van told him. He reached for her hand, and she slid it into his without protest, her head moving from left to right as she took it all in. The ticket booth, whose roof had fallen in, the white wooden screen which was covered in graffiti thanks to the youth of Hartson’s Creek. Even the swing set remained, though it was so rusty it looked like it could crumble at any moment.
“I can’t believe you bought this,” she said. “What a dump.”
This time he laughed, low and deep. “You have no vision,” he told her.
She lifted her chin up and looked at him with narrow eyes. “Good thing you’re rich,” she said softly. “Otherwise I’d feel sorry for you wasting your money. What are you going to do with it?”
“I’m going to restore it.”
She blinked. “As
in make it a drive-in again?”
“Yep.”
“Jesus, Tanner, you’re crazy. Who the hell wants to go to a drive-in anymore?”
He shrugged. “If we build it, they will come.”
She eyed him carefully. “Did you just misquote Field of Dreams to me?”
“I might have.”
“And who’s this we you speak of?”
“You and me.”
The amusement drained from her face. “There is no you and me,” she said quietly. “There hasn’t been for a long time.”
And he wanted to change that. So badly. The only thing worse than losing his best friend would be to lose her all over again. “I need you, Butler. I can’t do this on my own. You were always the ringleader, the one with the ideas. I was your sidekick.” He gave her a lopsided smile. “The muscle.”
She shook her head. “You don’t need me. You could do this in your sleep. You have enough money to employ somebody to restore it. People who know what they’re doing.”
“I don’t want someone who knows what they’re doing. I want you.”
The words sent a shot of pleasure through her. Ugh, he didn’t mean it like that. She let out a laugh, trying to recover her equilibrium. “Don’t sweet talk me.”
“Wasn’t going to.”
“You’re crazy, Tanner Hartson. Completely and utterly twisted. Have you thought of getting some therapy?”
He leaned forward, tucking a lock of hair behind her ears. “Say yes,” he said softly. “Work with me. Let’s make this place into something amazing.”
She looked around again, her eyes widening as though she was seeing the field in a different light. That’s when he saw it. The spark of interest that made her lips part and her chest lift up and down.