Page 76 of Well Played

I froze. Levi was not alone.

A man sat across from him at the table.

Blinking a few times, I was sure my imagination had to be playing tricks on me. But unfortunately, the smiling face was very real.

The man stood. “There’s my girl.”

My heart jumped to my throat. “Tanner, what are you doing here?”

He flashed a crooked smile. “Surprise?”

I wiped my sweaty palms on my shorts. “Yeah. It most certainly is.”

My eyes shot over to Levi, who stayed seated with his arms crossed. He looked troubled, but sympathetic—as if he were silently telling me he wasso freaking sorryright now.

I’m sorry, too.

This was not the way this morning was supposed to turn out.

“I thought it was time to come home,” Tanner finally said.

With a bitter tone, I asked, “Why now?”

He nodded. “Well, to be honest, it’s been a long time coming. From the moment I found out you and Alex were moving down here, I’ve felt like I was missing out. I decided some time ago that I was going to come join you. But I didn’t announce it because I didn’t trust myself to follow through. I’ve just fucked up so many damn times with my son, and didn’t want to make any promises I couldn’t keep.”

“I’m seriously confused, Tanner. You barely came to visit him when we were in New York.”

He took a few steps toward me. “I know. This is less about Beaufort and more about where I am in my life right now, Presley. You guys just happen to behereright now. But this would be happening if you were in New York, too. I just needed to get to this place in my life first.” He sighed. “Look, I know I have a lot of explaining to do, okay? To both you and Alex. I hope you give me a chance.”

My eyes once again met Levi’s. The happiness I’d seen in his face the past few days was totally gone. It had been drained, replaced by the same fear, anger, and confusion I felt right now.

I turned to Tanner. “Why didn’t you call to let me know you were coming?”

“Would it have mattered? I thought about it, but in the end, I thought it would be better if I surprised Alex.”

“Where do you plan on staying?” I asked.

He looked around. “Well, given that this place has several rooms, I was hoping you’d let me crash here.”

Levi’s chair skidded as he got up from his seat. He opened the fridge and popped open a root beer, angrily tossing the bottle cap aside. Tanner likely thought nothing of it, butIcould see the steam coming out of Levi’s ears.

“How long do you plan to stay in Beaufort?” I asked.

“I honestly don’t know.”

“How can you not know?”

He laughed. “If I didn’t know better, I would think you’re not happy to see me, Presley. I can’t say I blame you, okay? But know that I didn’t come back here to cause any problems. I want to spend some time with my son.” He turned to Levi before looking back at me. “Big bro told me about all of the stuff you got going on here, all the wonderful plans you have for Gramps’s place. You know, when I found out he’d left half of The Palm Inn to Alex, I worried what that would mean. I thought you were crazy for not selling. But Levi told me how much progress you’ve made. Where there’s a will, there’s always a way, I guess. And I’m really proud of you.”

“Thanks,” I muttered, willing my stomach to stop churning.

“I can’t thank you enough for helping out,” he told Levi.

Levi nodded.

“That’s right,” I said. “None of this would have been possible without Levi’s help. He paid for an entirely new air conditioning system, among other things.”

Tanner tilted his head. “I thought you were pushing to sell. What changed, Levi?”

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