Spring River Valley: The Spring Collection (Boxed Set) (2 page)

“You’re wrong. Very wrong.”
Slinging her bag over her shoulder, she strode out of the room, her ponytail swinging, leaving Tanner dumbfounded.

Considering the speed of her retreat, maybe he’d overestimated Ms. Prentice’s interest in him, but he was still certain he was right about one thing. She wasn’t going to forget him, because he wasn’t going to let her.

“Ask me how it feels to be famous.” Tanner dropped the
Saturday morning edition of the
Spring River Valley Herald
on the kitchen table in front of his brother.

Taylor, his identical twin, pushed his coffee cup aside and turned the folded paper around to read the headline above the short back-page article. “
Charmed and dangerous
? Well, that certainly sounds like you. Let’s see…
Tuesday night’s class at the rec center
blah, blah,
senior ladies
blah, blah…
Mr. Tanner Croft, a member of Spring River Valley’s Ambulance Corps, lays on the charm with his love-struck students, tossing cheesy pick-up lines around as easily as he expects his alumni to flip potential muggers over their shoulders. Mr. Croft asserts that his controversial approach to the art of self-defense, coupling his lessons with terms of endearment and sultry whispers, will help his students remember what they learn. So beware, potential muggers. If you hear a dreamy sigh before your next victim body slams you to the pavement, you have Tanner Croft’s Senior Self-Defense Class to thank
.”

Tanner slid into the chair opposite Taylor and helped himself to a slice of buttered toast from his brother’s plate. “Enrollment is going to skyrocket.”

Taylor set the paper aside and grabbed the last piece of toast. “Sounds like the reporter’s got your number.”

“I wish she did, but she stormed off before I could lay any more charm on her. I think she was jealous.”

Taylor scoffed. “I thought you schmoozed equally. Did you leave her out?”

“No, in fact, I couldn’t take my eyes off of her. Hot little brunette with a superior attitude and—”

“Under sixty?” Taylor rose and began clearing the table.

“Quite a bit under. Contrary to what people may think, I’m not trying to snare a cougar. The women in my class like the attention. Everyone has a good time, and they learn something.”

“And having a rep as the town gigolo certainly won’t hurt enrollment, right?”

Tanner shrugged. “Doesn’t matter to me. I don’t get paid by the student, I get paid by the hour. Anyway…I’m not here to defend myself.”

“I thought you were here to steal breakfast.” Taylor finished cleaning up and headed out of the kitchen. “Walk and talk. I’ve got to be at the clinic in ten minutes.”

“I’m here to ask if I can borrow your tux.”

“Maybe you should find a girl who actually likes you before you propose, don’t you think?”

“I’m not proposing to anyone. I’m auctioning myself off to the highest bidder.”

Taylor stopped mid-stride and eyed his brother sidelong. “Way to live down the gigolo rep.”

“It’s for charity. The Women’s Auxiliary Club is having a bachelor auction in two weeks, and they asked the ambulance
corps and the fire department to volunteer.”

“So you’re renting yourself out for what exactly?”

“The new children’s wing at the hospital.”

“I don’t mean the charity, I mean what…ah…
service
are you providing?” Taylor smirked and raised a brow. “You’d better be careful your uptight reporter friend doesn’t get wind of it.”

“She probably will. She writes for the lifestyle section. We just have to go on a date. Local restaurants are donating dinners for two, and we take the ladies who win us out to eat. It’s all very innocent.” A mirror image of his brother, Tanner mimicked Taylor’s expression.

“And ‘innocent’ is your middle name, after all.”

“Hey, you could volunteer too…”

“That’s okay. I’m not ready to put myself on the market…literally…just yet.”

“It’s been a year and a half since Joyce left. Don’t you think it’s time to come out of your cave?”

“When I find someone worth coming out of my cave for, I will.” Taylor’s expression hardened. Tanner knew his brother didn’t like being reminded of his runaway fiancée, but his period of mourning for the woman who’d broken his heart, taken his dog, and left him high and dry in the house he’d purchased for them to live in after their wedding should have ended long ago.

“I know you still miss her…”

“I don’t miss Joyce. I miss Tiger.”

“So get a new dog. You should know a pet is a great way to meet women.”

“I’m not interested in meeting a woman right now, and I’ve got all the canine companionship I could want at work, which where I need to be, so, if you want the tux, it’s upstairs in the back of the closet. You should probably have it dry-cleaned before you wear it…and
after
, if you don’t mind.” Taylor grabbed his jacket and keys and opened the front door. “I gotta get going. Just lock up when you leave, and…if you want to stop by Colette’s next Friday night, Owen and Claudia and I are auditioning at the Battle of the Bands.”

“Awesome, I’ll bring Quinn and the guys. Hey, T… Sorry about bringing up Joyce. I just think—”

Taylor held up a hand. “Don’t worry about it. You’re right, on some primitive level. I need to get on with my life. When the time is right, I will. Oh, and I’ll make a donation to the hospital in the name of the clinic too. See you later.”

Taylor ducked out the front door, leaving Tanner to contemplate his brother’s words. He wondered if Taylor would ever find someone worth trusting again after Joyce’s betrayal. There’d been a time when Tanner had envied his brother the solid, dependable relationship he’d had with the girl who was his high-school sweetheart. The breakup had taught Tanner a valuable lesson though, and that was never fall in love for longer than a week and always protect your heart and soul. Hopefully Taylor would one day get
past the hurt and start enjoying his life, and Tanner planned to be there to show him how to do it.

* * * *

The more Evie thought about it, the more she regretted the tone of her article about Tanner Croft. She’d left the class feeling incredibly foolish for thinking he might be interested in her. Seeing how attentive he was to all the other women in the class had taught her a lesson she should have learned a long time ago. Don’t get played. The dark-eyed EMT was handsome, no argument there, and she hadn’t yet been able to shake the memory of his strong arms around her, even though his next move had been to flip her over and drop her on the workout mat like a sack of potatoes.

On that account s
he planned to keep her word and put him out of her mind for good, so rather than sitting at her desk ruminating on her embarrassment of the other night, she strolled directly into Janet’s office first thing Monday morning.

“Have you got a minute?” she asked after knocking on the doorframe. Janet usually kept her office open and didn’t stand on ceremony when it came to her staff. She looked up from her computer and adjusted her thick-rimmed glasses higher on the bridge of her nose.

“Maybe fifty-nine seconds. I’ve got a meeting in circulation in five minutes.”

Evie plunked herself down in the chair in front of Janet’s desk. “I’ll be quick. I need to get out of Lifestyle. If I have to write about one more adult education class, charity event
, or supermarket opening, I’m going to lose my mind. I need some real news.”

Janet took off her glasses and rubbed her eyes. “Don’t we all? Look, you know I’ve been telling you since you started here, you have limitless potential. You write well, you cut to the heart of things, you meet your deadlines. Bring me big news, and I’ll be thrilled to give you a
front-page headline.”

“How do I do that when Chad gets everywhere first?”

Chad Marchand was the
Herald’s
golden boy. Most days his stories were headline news, second only to major world events that came through the global news service. Janet insisted that to survive in the digital age, their small-town paper had to offer the residents of the Valley and surrounding communities something they couldn’t get from the Internet, and that was local interest.
“People like to read about themselves, so what happens in this town
is
our world news
,
”
Janet had said time and time again.

“Chad has connections all over town, and let’s face it, he’s pushy.” Janet picked up her copy of the day’s edition and opened it to Evie’s article. “This little blurb you did on the karate guy—”

“Self-defense instructor.”

“Self
-defense instructor—it has snap, it hints at scandal. I like that. It’s interesting, but it’s not hot. It drums up business for him…in fact, I’m thinking of taking the class myself. I could use some…personal attention.”

Evie rolled her eyes. “You’re too young.” She dismissed the unpleasant thought of Tanner Croft putting his arms around Janet and whispering
sexy commands into her ear.

“Hey, I’ve lied about my age since I was sixteen, but that’s not the point. The point is, write me a story that sells papers, not self-defense classes. Or try your luck in advertising.”

Evie’s pulse raced at the thought of actually seeing her byline on page one, but getting a story that fit Janet’s criteria was easier said than done, especially when her schedule for the week included covering a spring garden show, a local theater production, and research on a piece about the history of Easter eggs. The hottest, sexiest story she could think of had passed her by last week. She rose when Janet did and followed her out of the cramped office. “So if I bring you something hot and sexy, you’ll kick Chad off the front page for me?”

“I’ll kick Chad into
orbit if you can get me a story that sizzles. Hook up with a photographer—maybe Max Shannon, he’s good. Listen to the police scanner, chase an ambulance. Do whatever you have to, and I’ll put your name up in lights. I’m late, so scoot.” Janet hurried off toward the circulation department, leaving Evie staring at her own very clean, very neat little desk. It wasn’t the desk of a news reporter. News was messy, it took risks, and it was time she started to do the same if she ever wanted to make a name for herself and turn this writing job into the career of her dreams.

“This place is crawling with men.” Bailey Cole nervously scanned the crowd at Colette’s. The restaurant’s informal search for a cover band had morphed into a major social event, and the place held twice the number of people than on a typical Friday night.

S
itting next to Bailey at one of the pub tables that faced the makeshift corner stage, Evie giggled into her piña colada. “You could sound more enthusiastic. I haven’t seen this many hot guys in one place since my last college mixer.”

“I am enthusiastic. I’m also a little overwhelmed. I didn’t think the place would be this packed.”

“Well, enjoy it. This is good for you. You’ve been hiding out in your apartment for too long.”

“I’m not hiding out. I took a hiatus from dating, that’s all.”

“A year-long hiatus is about eleven and a half months too long.”

“It hasn’t been a whole year yet.”

Evie slurped the last of her drink and signaled the nearest waitress for another. She’d spent the last four days in hot pursuit of a decent front-page story and had come up with zilch. How did Janet expect her to find something newsworthy in a sleepy little town where barely anything happened that didn’t involve a car accident? And those were all covered by Chad, who seemed to have a knack for showing up whenever the slightest fender bender occurred. She’d figured, in addition to providing her friend Bailey with an excuse to venture out into the real world, the event at Colette’s might at least produce a bar fight worth a few inches of column space. In lieu of that, at the very least, she could do a write-up for the Lifestyle section. “Are you actually waiting for the anniversary of the day you broke up with Dan?”

“No.” Bailey shifted her gaze to the stage where the first
group of musicians had begun to set up their equipment.

“I know that tone. That no means yes.”

“I told myself I needed a good, solid twelve months to figure out what I wanted in a man and to be a hundred percent sure I wouldn’t make the same dumb mistakes I made with Dan.”

“He’s the one who cheated on you. How is that your mistake?”

“I believed everything he told me. I fell for all his excuses, and I gave him the benefit of the doubt even when I had my reservations about the things he told me. That’s all my fault. Next time, I’m going to be more observant, and I’m not going to blindly follow anyone down the garden path.”

“Well
, good for you. I’ve already made a list of half a dozen guys here tonight that I’d follow into a burning building.” She gestured with her drink to a brawny blond and a couple of his buddies at a nearby table. “Like him, and him, and him…and—” Her gaze fell on a familiar set of biceps and followed them to a pair of broad shoulders and a very distinctive cock-eyed grin, and her heart slammed into her ribs.