Page 2 of Let Me Be the One
“You’re dealing with a mess.”
“Agreed. Although the mess is Sutter, a wedding I don’t want, and everyone trying to tell me what I should do.”
There was a moment of silence. “Don’t you think that whole thing with Sutter could be a simple misunderstanding?”
“No.”In the driest tone he’d heard from Callie so far, she said,“I didn’t imagine seeing his dick in her hand.”
Tanner choked.
“Shh. Did you hear that?”
“I hear you trying to talk me out of moving on.”
Distracted, the one named Glory huffed.“He said it didn’t mean anything.”
“That actually makes it worse!”
That last impassioned statement gave Tanner pause. Whoever she was, apparently she’d dealt with a creep. He hoped she didn’t relent but he also hoped she moseyed off his property so he could wrap up his day.
“If you’d just talk to him—”
“I did—to tell him it was over.”
“Callie…”
“No! I’ve made up my mind—whether anyone else accepts it or not.”
Tanner had a pretty low opinion of cheaters. Far as he was concerned, people didn’t change their basic natures.So good for her—but she still had no business skulking around on his property.
“Callie,”the other woman complained.“You know what hinges on this.”
“I don’t care.”
“You’re being selfish!”Another heavy silence descended and a charge filled the air before the speaker said, more quietly,“I’m sorry, Callie, I really am, but a lot of people will be hurt by this.”
“If you’re so keen on uniting the families, why don’t you marry him?”
“Eew. No, thank you. I have no desire to pick up your leftovers, and in case I need to remind you, there are many.”
“No,”the more determined voice of Callie said, while loudly thrashing through the woods.“There are three.”
“Three?”The sound of charging feet followed a disbelieving snort.“Get real. I know you too well to buy that.”
“Apparently not as well as you think, because the number is exactly three,”Callie insisted.“Buell in high school, and that was nothing grand, believe me.”
Wait a minute. Suspicion loomed hot, bringing a scowl to Tanner’s face. There’d been a Buell inhishigh school, too, a major prick with more money than brains. And in fact, Buell had dated…
Sweet little Callie McCallahan, the princess of Hoker High School. Tanner could still see her in his mind, with her silky brown hair and innocent blue eyes. Given how he’d crushed on her back then, he’d probably always remember her. She’d represented everything he wasn’t. And of course, she’d never acknowledged him.
“Then there was Warren in college,”Callie continued.“But he went on that testosterone rager that scared me off guys for quite a while.”
“I remember,”Glory said quietly.“That was awful.”
Awful how? An insidious tension invaded Tanner’s muscles, making him clench all over. Had she been hurt by some dude named Warren?
Glory pressed her.“And then Sutter?”
“Yup. Sutter—who can’t keep it in his pants.”
