Rachel Brimble - Her Hometown Redemption

He liked the man he’d become since she left. He liked the order, consistency and regimented stability in his life. It was Tanya who’d so easily provoked the anarchy and disorder that lingered just beneath the surface of his control. He would not, could not, go back to being that person again. She drove him nuts before and she would again.

But goddamn it, he’d loved her. When she was alone with him...when they were together, she was softer, more hopeful and shared her dreams of one day getting married, having kids. Had those been lies?

His gut told him no.

He had to stop thinking about her and hold on to who he was without her.

Liam picked up his cell phone and hovered his finger over Sasha’s number. He needed the truth. If Sasha told him why Tanya was back in Templeton—the real reason, not the flimsy excuse that she wanted to start over—maybe he would accept her being there and move on.

It was driving him mad—the need to rush across the street and demand to know why she had come back to the place she used to call Devil’s Paradise.

Before he could change his mind, he dialed Sasha’s number.

As it rang, he walked back to the window. Goddamn it, why were her office blinds drawn? What was Tanya hiding in there? Or was she hiding, period? Leah Dixon had left about half an hour before...maybe he should forget talking to Sasha and track down Leah instead.

“Hello?”

Too late. Liam pulled back his shoulders. “Sasha, it’s Liam.”

“I know. What’s wrong? Is Tanya okay?”

Annoyance simmered in his gut. “Why do you ask that like I should know? Tanya isn’t my responsibility.”

Sasha sniffed. “Well, for someone clearly trying his best to act like he doesn’t give a damn about Tanya, you sound mighty wound up about something.”

“Do you know she’s setting herself up in an office right opposite mine?”

She sighed. “Glad to hear she’s settling in okay.”

“Settling in? Bloody hell, Sasha, I don’t want to have to look out my window at her every day.”

She laughed. “Then don’t.”

Liam shoved his fingers into his hair. “Are you finding this funny? I can’t ignore her. You know how I felt about her.”

“I do. I also know she isn’t back to start something up with you again. You know Tanya. Can’t you just be her friend and not get involved? I love her, Liam, but who knows how long she’ll last in the Cove. I thought the Liam and Tanya train left town years ago.”

Liam clenched his jaw. “It has... I’ve even had sex with other women.”

“Funny.”

“But that doesn’t mean it’s not thrown me through a loop seeing her again.”

“This is the first time we’ve spoken in weeks. I don’t have to be Miss Marple to work out the reason you’re puffing and panting like an unfit athlete. She’s gotten to you already, hasn’t she?”

He glared toward Tanya’s office. “Just tell me the truth. Why is she really here?”

“She wants a fresh start.”

He rolled his eyes and gripped the phone. “So she said, but why Templeton? The last I heard from her, via a damn note shoved under my door, she was getting out of Devil’s Paradise while she still could. This was the last place she wanted to be.”

“People change their minds.”

“Yes, but—” He stopped as realization hit him straight between the eyes, making the hairs at the back of his neck prickle with protectiveness. “This doesn’t have something to do with your leaving, does it? Is she here to finish whatever happened between you and your mum? The thing you told me you’d share with me one day but never did?”

“Of course not, and don’t you dare bring that up with her, okay? It’s history.”

“Does she see it that way, Sasha?”

“Yes, she does. I’m not the reason she’s come home.”

“Home? Is that your word for Templeton or hers?”

“Hers.”

He raised his eyebrows. Things must be worse than he’d imagined if Tanya now called Templeton her home. Frowning, he stared through the window once more. “Just give me something. I’m going a little crazy here.”

“I can hear that.” Sasha’s exhalation rasped down the line. “Look, I thought you two were over. Tanya needs someone to trust while she finds her feet.”

“Fine. I’ll look out for her, but there is no way I’m getting involved with her again.”

“I understand. Look, Tanya will tell you what she wants you to know if, and when, she’s ready.”

Liam turned his back to the window. “Has someone hurt her? Is she in trouble?”

“Liam, please. It isn’t my place to tell you. Ask her. If she wants to tell you, she will. If not, then...”

Frustration burned. His work provoked an urgency and determination to see justice done, but that was business. Tanya Todd was as personal as anything had ever been in his life. He had to shut his emotions down or she would strip him bare as she had before.

He swiped his hand over his face. “She’s got to find her own way back to people trusting her. I can’t do that for her.”

“Exactly, but she’s willing to try. Why don’t you do the same? Second chances, Liam. Isn’t that what you’re all about?”

“Second chances? I gave Tanya plenty of ch—”

The line went dead.

Cursing, he turned to the window and froze. “Marian. No, no, no. Don’t you go in there. Don’t you...oh, damn it.”

He tapped the phone against his bottom lip as Marian pushed open the door of Tanya’s office and walked inside just as easy as can be. Tension stiffened his shoulders. How could he abandon Tanya to the wolves? Templeton’s alpha female might go hunting dressed in a floral frock and sensible shoes, but Marian could shred her prey down to their bare soul if they weren’t surrounded by a pack of helpers.

He marched behind his desk and picked up his briefcase, shoving in his case files and phone before snapping it closed. Marian could shoot to kill with a single look, or open her arms and rock a full-grown adult like a baby. He had no idea which way things would go for Tanya. He had to go over there.

A soft knock sounded on his office door and he looked up. “Come in.”

Suzie, his receptionist, stood on the threshold. “You do realize you’re due in court in less than twenty minutes? It’s going to take you at least that long to get across town.”

Suzie never had the need to remind him of any appointment, much less a court hearing. He glanced toward the window and back to Suzie. “I need to...”

She frowned. “You need to what?”

He shook his head. “Nothing. Thanks, Suzie. I’m on my way.”

She nodded, leaving the door open as she returned to her desk. Liam headed for the door. Focus on the job at hand. If he kept doing that, maybe, just maybe, he could manage a few hours’ work without worrying about Tanya and whether or not she’d make it out alive after Marian’s interrogation.

CHAPTER FIVE

TANYA SLOWLY PUT down the notice board she was about to hang on her office wall and faced Marian. “Marian Cohen, right? I had a feeling I’d see you today.”

Marian smiled, her eyes glinting with good humor. “We haven’t even met before, which means Sasha must’ve warned you about me.” She grinned. “I do so like it when my reputation precedes me.”

Tanya tilted her chin. The woman was absolutely right. Sasha hadn’t just warned Tanya about Marian Cohen, she’d trained her in how to get the town’s matriarch on her side. According to Sasha, agreement with Marian’s views and advice was always the way into Marian’s good books. However, if Tanya ever found agreement a stretch too far, she needed to show Marian she was an equal as far as debate and action were concerned.

According to Sasha, Marian hid a heart of gold behind a ferocious protection for the younger generation. However, that protection came with a condition—they were expected to set their minds on something and then take steps to make their dreams and aspirations reality. If they did, Marian would be their stalwart supporter and advocate...if they didn’t, she’d kick butt.