Page 97 of Let Me Be the One
The abruptness of it all lingered in the still air. Not only was her heart thumping, but her stomach cramped.
Liam cleared his throat. “You okay?”
“Yes,” she whispered, trying to find her bearings. None of that had gone as it should have. Callie knew it would be a day she’d regret for a very long time.
“So…” Liam watched her closely, as if she might cry. “What’s on the agenda for today?”
Forcing a slight smile, Callie attempted to reassure him. “What do you know of horses?”
His shoulders relaxed and he gave her a grin. “Ready to meet Rebel, huh?”
“That’s the horse’s name? I love it.” Focusing on the horse was much easier than facing the debacle she’d just played out.
“Were you wanting to ride him?”
Callie shook her head. “A lot of my friends had horses, but my parents have never been animal-oriented so I know nothing about them.”
“Tanner does. They have three, including your horse.”
Her jaw dropped. “No way. Tanner’s never mentioned having horses.”
“That’s why he took yours after Reggie passed away. Horses are social. They don’t like being alone. Rebel was often with his horses anyway.” Liam’s mouth quirked. “Reggie first took Rebel in because a buddy of his moved away, but Tanner’s always been the one to take care of him. Now that spring is here and the landscaping business is busy, they have a groom who does the daily upkeep, but Tanner, Kam, and Addie still visit the horses often. They all ride.”
“How did I not know any of this?”
Liam laughed. “There’s probably a lot you don’t know about them. Tanner doesn’t realize how many people in this town respect him and Kam, and they all love Addie. Most around here have benefited from them in one way or another.”
So they weren’t all like the Garmet brothers? Wonderful. “Can you give me an example?”
Liam sat down on the couch, getting comfortable as if he had a lot to say. “The groom I mentioned is aretired guy. He couldn’t afford to keep horses, but he still loves them.” Offhand, as if it wasn’t big news, Liam said, “He has a small place on the other side of the tree farm. He rides over in his golf cart every day to tend the horses. He feeds them, checks their hooves, stuff like that. They’ll go out in the field while he mucks out the stalls, then he rubs them down and sees them bedded each night.”
“He enjoys it?”
“Sure. He was alone all the time before Tanner hired him. Now he sees one or all three of them often, and Addie is forever sending him baked goods. They’re like family to him. Plus he told me that with what Tanner pays him, he doesn’t have to get his groceries from the food bank anymore.” His grin went crooked. “You never saw anyone so happy to hit up the grocery store.”
Emotion filled her chest. “Remarkable.”
“Kam and Tanner both volunteer time with the kids from the halfway house. They sponsor holidays and team sports, outings and movie nights.”
Callie dropped back against the wall. She’d known he was involved, but not to that extent. “Wow.”
“Tanner has an apprenticeship where he teaches job skills, like landscaping, but also lawn maintenance. Kam does the same with welding.” He added more quietly, “Tanner takes on a lot.”
Did he ever take time for himself? “Sounds like he has multiple projects.”
Liam nodded. “I started as one of those projects.”
Callie wasn’t sure what to say to that.
“We’re friends now,” Liam assured her. “He’s like the big brother, or maybe a favorite uncle that I never had. At first though… I didn’t want to trust Tanner.”He frowned. “I didn’t want to trust anyone. But Tanner has a way of understanding, you know?”
Because he’d been through those awful times himself.
As usual, when talking about him, her heart went squishy. “He’s pretty amazing.”
“I can’t disagree.” Liam stood again. “So what do you say? Want to meet your horse?”
She did, but she also knew Nell would be visiting. “How about tomorrow? Will you be busy?”
