Va-Cay

Tanner thanked her then had the presence of mind to ask, "Oh, could you recommend a real estate agent in town?"

"Of course," she said with a smile. She wrote them down along with a phone number for each then asked if she could be of any other assistance.

"Just maybe open a savings account in my name and transfer the money into?" he suggested.

"I'll take care of that for you immediately, Mr. Patten," she told him with a smile, relieved one of their largest deposits wasn't going anyway just yet.

The real estate agent was just a couple of blocks away, and blocks weren't very big so the two of them walked. When Tanner reached for her hand, Vanessa let him take it, but he sensed something was wrong.

"You okay?" he asked.

"I think so," she told him.

Knowing something was wrong he stopped and faced her.

"What is it?"

"Well, you just got some amazing news. Quite a bit of it, in fact. And you don't seem very excited. So I was wondering if everything is okay—with you."

He reached down and took her hands then said, "You'd give that much money away in a second to bring Adam back, and I'd burn every dollar of it in a heartbeat if it would bring back Hannah. But it can't. But what it does do is show me the limited value of money when what really matters is love."

He let go of one hand and touched her face, smiled then told her, "Finding you means more to me than money, or houses, or land."

He moved in very close then told her, "Those things don't make me happy, Vanessa. You do. Until this week, I had nothing that made me happy. I enjoy my work, but it never made me happy."

He smiled again then said, "But you do. So that's why I'm not very excited about having someone hand me something I didn't earn."

"You really are an amazing man, Tanner."

She smiled back at him then said, "You make me happy."

She kissed him then said, "Very happy."

"Come on. Let's go see if we can sell this land."

The demolition could start anytime now that he was the legal owner of the property. But before he gave them the go ahead, he wanted to find someone to help him get rid of it.

The agent they spoke to told them she knew just who might like to buy it.

"Seriously? Hugh Stanton?" Tanner asked.

"Oh, yes. He's had his eye on that small piece of land for years. In a small town like this, you get to know pretty much everything about everybody. Especially when you've been selling real estate for nearly 30 years in that same town."

"Well, I can't think of anyone I'd rather see have it," Tanner told her. "We can stop by there on our way back to Auburn."

"Do you know how much you'd like to ask for it?" she asked.

"Not really. And if Hugh wants it, I'm willing to make a deal," he told her.

"It's up to you what amount you ask for, but just so you know, I think somewhere around $250,00 is about right. If the house was worth saving, you could easily get three hundred. But two-fifty is a very reasonable price."

"Okay. I'll run that by Hugh and see what he says," Tanner told her.

"All right. If he says 'yes' and you need me to go ahead, just let me know."

"I'll call you either way," Tanner promised. And with that their business in town was done.

As they drove, it was Tanner who couldn't help but think something was going on with Vanessa.

"Care to share?" he asked.

"Well, I'm not sure why I feel the need to say this, but I do so..."

She looked over at him then said, "I don't care about this money, either. At all. In fact, while I'm glad you have it, I almost wish it had never happened, because I need you to know I care about you, Tanner."

"Hey, do you really think I'd fall for a woman who was only interested in me for my money? Which, by the way, wasn't much until today."

His smile helped, but Vanessa was still concerned he might somehow see her as a gold digger or some such thing.

"What you said back in town. About money not bringing happiness. I agree with that completely. I know firsthand that being so poor you have to worry about it all the time is no fun, but beyond having enough to get by on, it never makes anyone any happier."

"Are you trying to convince me of what I said?" he teased.

"No. Of course not. I just really need you to know none of that matters."

She looked down at the floor then said, "I need you to know I've fallen for you, too, and it happened when I thought you were some poor security guy."

"As opposed to a poor federal agent?" he said, keeping the teasing going.

"Well, yes," she said finally smiling.

"So can we stop talking about money now?"

"I'd like that a lot," Vanessa told him as she held out her hand for him to take.

When they pulled into the Stanton's driveway, the tractor was by the house meaning Hugh was inside.

He not only jumped at the offer, he agreed to pay full price in cash and even insisted on it.

Tanner was as shocked to think this man in bib overalls who wore an old red ball cap outside had that kind of money laying around. Evidently, he did. Evidently, farming paid better than he realized or maybe there'd been an inheritance somewhere in their past. Either way, Hugh wanted the property and told Tanner he'd take it 'as is' with the house.

"I'll have my boys come out and help me knock it down. They've both got tractors, and between them and me, it won't cost much beyond a few dumpsters worth of trash to haul away."

They shook on it, said goodbye, and on the way back to Auburn Tanner called Elaine, who was thrilled to be making 6% of $250k and told him she'd get right on it.

"That's that, I guess," Tanner said. "What's next?"

"Kayleigh's party?" she said with a smile. "Oh, and we have another guest checking in tomorrow, too."

"We?" he said with a smile. "Well, yes. Maybe. Would you like there to be a 'we'?"

"I would. I'd like that very much."

"Is it fair for me to ask what you plan on doing now that you don't need to stay here and renovate your dad's house?"

"Of course it's fair," he told her. "The truth is I don't want to leave."

"So you like it out here?" she asked.

"No, not particularly. I like the green, but not the gray skies, and I really don't like the traffic. But there is something here I like very much and don't want to live without."

"Oh, some...thing, huh?" she asked with a hopeful smile.

"Okay. Some...one," he said, smiling back.

"Does that mean you won't be leaving next week?" she asked just as hopefully.

"It does. In fact, I'm planning to stay all 30 days, unless of course, you're tired of having me hang around."

Vanessa's heart was singing as she said, "I think I could put up with you for a month."

She paused, smiled, then said, "Or possibly even longer."

From the time they got home until Kayleigh's party, it was non-stop activity between getting things ready, checking in the new guest, and the happy new couple spending as much time together as they could.

Saturday evening, Kayleigh's friends arrived starting with Becca, a very sweet girl Tanner thought was a lot like Kayleigh. Two others arrived, and after checking with their new arrival who said it was fine, Vanessa let her daughter play her favorite music.

The new guest was a man who looked to be around 40, and he seemed pleasant enough, but something about him set off warning bells in Tanner's head. He dismissed the thought by the time they had dinner, and when he went back to his room to get ready, he forgot all about it.

He forgot about it, because something more important was on his mind. He looked at his wedding ring several times, and after quietly asking Hannah to understand, he took it off for the first time since she'd put it there.

What he couldn't know was that Vanessa was doing the very same thing in her room. Her eyes filled with tears as she said to Adam, "Honey? I'll never stop loving you, but I know you'd want me to be happy. And I'm sure you know I've finally met someone, and well, I think it's time. So...please understand, okay?"

She set the modest diamond on her dresser in front of the mirror, dabbed her eyes, then touched up her mascara before going back out for the party.

Just seeing Kayleigh laughing and having fun made her happy. And when her daughter said, "Mom? This song is for you and Tanner to dance to," she had to fight back tears again as she wondered if her father had somehow let her know.

"May I have this dance?" Tanner asked.

Neither of them had heard the song before, but it was slow and romantic, and nothing else mattered as they held each other and slowly moved in a small circle. There were no boys there so Kayleigh danced with Becca and their other two friends with each other, something girls often did.

As the song ended, Tanner realized their guest was missing, but didn't give it any thought as he slowly let go of his beautiful, older girlfriend. As her left hand slid out of his right, he noticed the bare finger and took her hand back.

"What?" she asked with a happy smile as he pulled her close.

He held up his left hand, smiled, then said, "Great minds really do think alike, I see."

"I often wondered if I'd ever meet anyone who could make me feel like I could take it off," Vanessa said as they looked into each other's eyes.

"I didn't believe I ever would," he told her quietly. "And then I found you."

Vanessa was tearing up again just as Kayleigh said, "Mom? Is it time yet? I feel like I'm 14 now!"

"I'm being summoned," she said to Tanner who let her go.

"Yes! Let's see if we can find a cake around here somewhere."

"I'll go get it for you," Tanner said. He knew it was in Vanessa's room and told her he'd be right back. She'd gone all out and had something almost as fancy as a wedding cake made.

Vanessa had the words, 'Happy Birthday, Kayleigh, my daughter and best friend who's always been there for me.' Below it she had them write, 'We made it through it—just like we always do!'

Tanner was smiling in anticipation of seeing her face light up when he brought it out. As he turned the corner to go into her room, he stopped dead in his tracks. Their new guest was in there, and he was holding her ring. He held it up, looked at it, turned it in the light, then put it in his pocket.

Almost too stunned to speak, Tanner stood there trying to process who could possibly do something like that. The shock wore off and anger replaced it as he stepped inside.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" he asked as he approached the man.

"Doing?" he said. "I was just looking around. I saw the cake and wanted to take a look at it. That's not a crime these days, is it?"

His blood boiling, Tanner walked up to the man, and said, "You're under arrest, you sonuvabitch."

The man laughed and said, "Go ahead. Call the cops. But they're gonna need a warrant."

"Don't move," Tanner said as he walked across the hall.

He picked up his badge, his service weapon, and his handcuffs, things he never imagined he'd use, and walked back in.

He held up the badge, and the man said, "That's not an Auburn cop's badge. You have no jurisdiction here."

Tanner threw him onto the bed face first, cuffed, him, then said, "I'm an FBI agent, dumbass. I have jurisdiction everywhere in this country. You have the right to remain silent, you have the right to..."

Vanessa walked in to see what was taking so long and, she too, stopped.

"Tanner? What's going on?" she said feeling very confused and upset.

Tanner stood the man up and said, "See for yourself."

He turned him around, reached into his pocket, and pulled out her wedding ring.

"I saw him take it. Your wedding ring. The one your husband, who died trying to save a little girl gave you. Then he denied it."

Vanessa had never been so angry in her life. She walked over, took the ring from Tanner, and set it back on the dresser.

Then she turned to face the man, and unable to control her rage, she slapped him in the face as hard as she could.

"I opened my home to you, and this is how you repay me?"

Tanner called the local police who came and picked the man up. He filled out some papers then apologized to everyone for the incident. By then the girls all knew what had happened and thought he was nothing short of a hero.

"It's no wonder my mom loves you," Kayleigh said, once again shocking her mother who'd finally calmed down.

"Kayleigh, I...why would you..."

"Mom, I'm 14 now, remember. And I'm smart. Just like my mom. And it's okay. I kind of love him, too."

Vanessa smiled as the other girls starting clapping and 'woot-wooting' and saying, "Kiss him, kiss him, kiss him!"

Vanessa was laughing and Tanner said, "I believe children should be heard."

"I've heard that, too," she said as he put his arms around her.

"And you can't disappoint your daughter or her friends, right?"

"No. I...I can't do that," she said before she pulled him close and kissed him.

The girls hooped and hollered again and when it ended, Vanessa said, "I kind of do love him."

"Just...kind of?" Tanner asked, his arm around her.

"Say it! Say it! Say it!" the girls all said as Kayleigh led the cheer.

"Okay. Okay. I...love him!" she said.

They cheered even louder then waited for Tanner to speak.

"And I love her."

Another loud burst followed before Kayleigh said, "Now that's what I'm talkin' about!" again.

She threw up her arms then said loudly, "Let them eat cake!"

"No candles? No birthday wish?" her mom asked.

"Hey, I already got more than I wished for, so let's just commence to cuttin' and eatin'!"

The cake tasted as good as it looked, and once everyone had a slice, Vanessa brought out several gifts she'd bought her daughter. All of them were things to wear, and things she'd hinted at here and there.

Kayleigh was so moved, she started to cry, and her mom said, "Stop. You'll make me cry, too!"

She looked up at her and then at Tanner before saying, "We've been through so much, Mom. Things looked so bleak sometimes I wondered how we'd ever make it. But you were the reason we did. You're not only my mom, you're my best friend. I love you so much, and I'm really, really happy you've found someone so awesome."

Vanessa was crying, too, and in order to make her stop, Kayleigh said, "So...I can I spend the night at Becca's?"

"Oh. Well, sure. I think that'd be just fine. I mean, you are 14, right?"

"You know it, woman!" she replied before telling her friends to pack it up so they could move out.

Kayleigh hadn't slept over or had anyone at their house since before her father died, so Vanessa was thrilled to let her.

Becca's mom came to pick them up and took all four of them to her house leaving Tanner and Vanessa all alone at night for the first time.

"That was really nice," Tanner told her.

"Yes. It was very special. Something I'll never forget."

"I love the way you two get along," he told her.

"We have a wonderful relationship," she said as Tanner put his arms around her again.

"I'd like to have a wonderful relationship with you," he said as they again looked in each other's eyes.

"I see," she said sweetly. "And...what kind of relationship are we talking about?"

"The kind two people who love each other have," he told her.

"Well, I do love you."

"And I love you."

"Then I suppose we should...love one another," she said as she took his hand and led her to her bedroom and locked the door.

"I'm very out of practice," she told him.

"No more than me," he said.

"So if I'm not so great you won't be upset?" she asked.

"You're already great," he told her. "Anything else is just...icing on the cake."

Vanessa laughed, held him close then said, "I'm so happy."

"Me, too," he said before he kissed her then slowly undressed her.

They made love twice that night with the second time being even better than the first.

Although he returned to his own room well before Kayleigh came home, he and Vanessa became inseparable from that moment on. For the next two weeks, Tanner helped her run the business while he waited for the land to be sold, while tying up other loose ends with his father's funeral, Social Security, paying final bills, and other details.

A week before it was time to go, they were sitting alone having a glass of wine when Vanessa said, "Have you decided what you're going to do yet?"

"Yes and no," Tanner replied with a smile.

"You're usually very decisive. That doesn't sound like you," she said.

"Well, the 'yes' part is easy. I've decided I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

He got off the couch, produced a small, fuzzy, blue box, then opened it as he got on one knee.

Vanessa was beside herself as the very thing she'd hoped for was actually happening.

"We've both said how we felt like we might never find someone, and then fate or something just threw us together. However it happened, it changed my life. You changed my life, sweetheart. And I can't imagine my life now without you. So...Vanessa Sanders, will you marry me?"

She was too emotionally wrung out to scream. Vanessa was crying and nodding, and somehow managed to say, "Yes," as he placed the very large diamond on her hand.

"So what's the 'no' part?" she asked once she could talk.

He sat next to her, held her close then said, "Well, what else I'm going to do depends on you."

"How so?" she asked as she held her left hand out, unable to stop looking at the ring and all that it represented.

"On whether you'll come with me to Oklahoma or whether I need to request a transfer to the Seattle Field Office. I'd love for you and Kayleigh to come with me, but this place...this house...is your life, and I would never ask you to leave it."

"There are many wonderful memories in this house. But in the end, it's just a house. You said that about money and it was true. It's also true about the brick and mortar that make up this building. Kayleigh may not want to leave, but I'll ask her and see what..."

"Ask me what?" Kayleigh said, as she walked in on them yet again.

"Sit down, honey," her mom said.

"Okay," she said as she sat across from them. "What's up?"

"Well, first of all...this," her mom said as she held out her hand.

"Holy cow, Mom! That's a rock!"

Before she could reply, Kayleigh hugged her and said, "Congratulations. I'm so happy for you!"

She then hugged Tanner and said, "Both of you."

"There's more," her mom said.

"Okay. Shoot."

"How would you feel about moving? About leaving Auburn and...

"Oh, hell yeah!" Kayleigh hollered. "Are we there yet?"

"But you don't even know where," her mom said.

"If it's away from here, I'm all in!" her daughter said.

"So Oklahoma City is okay?" her mom asked anyway.

"Are you kidding? A chance to start a new life in a new place with my best friend...and her gorgeous boy...fiancé? Let's roll, people!" Kayleigh said with that infectious excitement of hers.

"Do you want to finish out the school year here?" Vanessa asked. "You only have a month or so to go, and I need to get the house ready for sale."

"Will you have to leave before then, Tanner?" Kayleigh asked.

"Unfortunately, yes," he said. "But your mom does need time to sell the house."

"I can find a realtor to sell it, honey," she said, calling him that for the first time in front of her daughter who smiled approvingly.

"So...are you saying you want to leave with me when my month is up?" he asked.

Kayleigh was nodding and smiling so Vanessa said, "Oh, hell, yeah!"

The three of them laughed and hugged, and Tanner said, "Well, I better check into renting a U-Haul truck, and you two better get started packing up what you want to take with us."

Three days before Tanner was due back at work, the U-Haul was stuffed to the gills, and Vanessa's car was in tow in back. She handed the house keys to an old friend who was also a realtor, and climbed up into the cab.