Be with Me (Return to Haven 2)

“I’m not sure I had much life left there,” she murmured. “But today isn’t about that, right? Let’s go for a flight and leave our problems down here.”

Tanner wanted to press her for more. He wanted to know everything she came from, everything that still haunted her. He wanted to slay every damn one of her dragons and make the rest of her world puppy dogs and rainbows.

Since when had he turned into such a sentimental guy? He was always quick to ride to the rescue, but after that he moved on to the next job.

Melanie wasn’t a job, though. She was the mother of his child and the woman in his life whom he vowed to protect at all costs. Soon he would find out about her ex and what she was still dealing with there.

“Leaving our problems down here sounds like the perfect day,” he agreed. “Now why don’t we start your first lesson with the standard pre-flight check?”

Chapter Nine

Be somebody nobody thought you could be.

—Mel’s Motivational Blog

Tanner eyed his Harley Fat Boy in the corner of his garage. Perhaps he should sell the thing. He hadn’t found time to ride in too long, and with a baby coming he should probably start putting funds back for . . . hell, he didn’t know. But getting a nest egg started sounded like the smart move to make.

He wasn’t struggling for cash, but he was realistic enough to know that children weren’t cheap and he didn’t want Melanie to have to worry about anything. He had no clue what her financial status was, but he did know that when she was married she’d obviously had money . . . if Neville let her spend any.

That was just another aspect Tanner had no clue about.

Regardless, he would provide for Melanie and their child. He never wanted her to have to worry about anything like that.

After a hellish day at work, Tanner needed an outlet. He’d tried the punching bag in the basement, but he was still restless.

Being on the force meant no day was the same. Today wasn’t anything too crazy, just one fender bender after another, and then some teen thought he could hold up the local bank with a water pistol in his jacket.

Tanner wasn’t in the mood to head to Cash’s gym and see all the people. Besides, his inside guy was working tonight and so far had come up with some tips that indeed drugs were being pushed through the gym.

Tanner wasn’t going to Cash quite yet. Knowing Cash, he’d beat the shit out of the guys and then the system couldn’t process the criminals. And Tanner really didn’t want to arrest his own cousin for assault.

With his own little makeshift gym in the back of his garage, Tanner did several dead lifts, some pull-ups with the bar, and his free weights. With his shoulders and back burning, especially after he’d done the punching bag, Tanner took a hearty swig of water and dumped the rest of the bottle over his head to cool off.

The second he turned around, he spotted another item in the corner he hadn’t touched in years. The rocking chair. After his fiancée and baby died, he’d covered the damn thing with a sheet.

This old wooden rocker had been the one his mother had used when he’d been a child and she’d passed it to him. It needed to be repaired and painted, but once he’d lost everything, he hadn’t seen the point.

He also hadn’t been able to bring himself to get rid of the silly thing. It wasn’t like it was some heirloom passed down through generations. His mother simply thought he might like to have it.

Swiping the sweat from his forehead with the back of his arm, Tanner crossed to the rocker. With a swift jerk, he sent the dusty white sheet silently to the concrete floor. The rocker shifted, swaying back and forth from the sudden movement after years of being still.

He ran his hand along the rough edges of the arm. Maybe he could start working on this for Melanie. Did she have a vision of what she wanted in the nursery? Hell, where would the nursery even be? If he had his way, he’d put Mel in his home so he could keep an eye on her and the baby, but he hadn’t been able to keep his own fiancée safe, and he knew Mel well enough to know she wouldn’t just come because he asked. She would see him as overbearing. . . which, when it came to this, he was.

For good reason, Melanie wanted to stand on her own right now. After years of hell, she wasn’t going to take commands from him and he didn’t expect her to. He respected the hell out of her and it was past time she understood that she should expect such admiration from a man. She deserved no less.

From the workbench across the garage, his cell chimed. Tanner turned from the rocking chair and crossed the space, circling his truck and reaching for his phone.

“Hey, Jax.”

“Dude, are you busy?”

“Not at all.” Living with his memories and struggling to compartmentalize them so he didn’t screw up his future wasn’t busy at all. “What’s up?”

“How soon can you get over here?”

Already moving toward his truck, he hopped in and hit the garage door opener. “Less than ten. What’s wrong?”