"All right," he said finally.
"All right?" She was startled by the wave of crushing disappointment that swept through her. He hadn't fought for her before. He'd let her go. And now, with one speech, he wasn't fighting for her again? She took a breath. "Great."
"But I would like you to stay so I can protect you." Irony flashed across his face. "It's what I do best, right?"
Tatum bit her lip. She was so off kilter right now that she wanted to run, but the truth was, she didn't know where to go. She didn't know who she could count on for help. She might not be able to trust Brody with her heart, but her life? As he said, it was what he was good at. Maybe, when all this was over, she could get her life back, the way she wanted it, not the way it had been for the last five years. "I'll stay…if you'll help me with something else, too."
A grin crooked the corner of his mouth. "You're bribing me to let me keep you safe?"
"Yep. I know you live to protect, so you'll do whatever it takes to get the chance. Is it a deal?"
He cocked an eyebrow at her. "What do I need to do to earn the chance to protect you?"
"Help me find a way to get out of my contract with Donny as my manager. I've had lawyers go over the language, and there's no out that anyone can find. But if I can't get away from him…" She paused, her throat tightening as she spoke the words that had been weighing on her with increasing pressure lately. "If I can't, I'm going to have to stop singing. I have to get away from him, Brody, and that's the only path I see."
His jaw flexed. "Singing is what keeps your soul alive."
"I know." She couldn't hold back the sudden tears. "He's killing me, Brody. I can't do it anymore."
He swore under his breath, but nodded. "Of course I'll help."
She nodded, feeling stupid with her tears. "Thanks. It's just that—"
"I know, baby." He reached out and pulled her into his arms. "I know."
Tatum let herself surrender to Brody's hug. She needed him as a friend, as a support system, as the only one she'd ever trusted with her true self. With Brody, she didn't have to pretend. "I missed you," she whispered.
"I missed you, too, Tatum." He kissed the top of her head, a kiss that was about support and friendship, not seduction. "I'm glad you're here. We'll get this straightened out, and then you can go back to what you love."
"Thanks." She nodded, breathing in the warmth of his body. Go back to what she loved? It was singing…but it was also the man holding her. Just friends. How could she keep herself from being near him and falling for him again when he was doing his protector thing with her?
She loved his protector side, even if it was what had broken her heart.
One summer. That was all they'd had together. One summer when she was seventeen.
How could one summer fifteen years ago have such power over her? Over him?
And how could they finally get past it?
Maybe it was finally time for both of them to be free and move on.
Maybe that was why she'd come back. Not to love him. Not to rekindle the romance they'd once had.
But to finally be able to leave him. Physically and emotionally.
Maybe this was supposed to be their final farewell.
Chapter Eleven
He was going to keep Tatum this time.
Or at least try like hell.
For years, Brody had wondered if he'd imagined their connection. If he'd turned her into a goddess that didn't really exist. If their summer romance really had been nothing more than a teenage fling between two desperate, hopeless kids that had clung to the breath of hope they'd given each other.
But as he leaned back in his deck chair, listening to Tatum talk as she finished up the chicken he'd grilled for their late afternoon dinner, he knew the answer.
They weren't kids anymore. They were adults with lives, success, and stability. They weren't desperate anymore. And yet, their connection was still there, deeper than it had been. He didn't know how it had become deeper when they'd been apart, but it had.
He'd backed off to give Tatum the space she needed, but he knew that she was feeling the same things he was. Was it enough? He'd heard what she said about him being a protector, never putting her first, and the truth was, he didn't know if she was correct in her evaluation of him. Was it impossible for him to put a woman first? For him to treasure her above all else. And to make sure she knew it?
He thought he could. And he was committed to finding out, to taking this as far as it could go. To taking this second chance with her and giving it everything he had.
The afternoon sun was illuminating golden highlights in her dark brown hair, streaks he remembered from that summer so long ago. Her face wasn't as lean as it had once been. She had curves now where she had been sinewy before. He loved her body now. He loved the changes in her. He wanted to tell her how beautiful she was, but he didn't dare.
He knew she would bolt at the first excuse, and he wasn't going to give her one.
She'd kept the conversation neutral, asking questions about the ranch and horses. Not about him, his life, or his family. But she'd been willing to answer questions about her music, about her tours, about her life.
Her passion for her music was as strong as it had been when she was a teenager. He loved watching the way she lit up when she talked about it. But his gut clamped down in anger whenever her stories got too close to Donny, and she retreated emotionally.
Donny was under her skin. He could feel it. The man may not have hit her, but he controlled her, and had abused her emotionally. And that shit was going to end now.
Every time Tatum moved her left hand and winced in pain, anger pulsed through Brody. Someone had broken her arm. Donny? Someone else? He was going to find out. Make sure she was safe. Help her get her life back…even if it meant she left him when she was free again.
He didn't want her to stay because she had to.
He wanted her to stay with him because she wanted to.
Tatum finished her meal and leaned back. "That was fantastic. I didn't know you could cook."
He smiled. "One of my many skills acquired later in life. How are you doing? All right?"
She shrugged. "Sleeping half the day and the food perked me up. I'm good." She raised her brows. "So, what next? About this." She held up her arm, as if to make sure she wasn't trying to open the door to their relationship.
He knew, but regret still pulsed through him anyway. He had to work through not only their own past, but the fifteen years under Donny's thumb. Trust him? Trust men? Trust relationships?
He doubted there was any willingness to trust left in her, but he was going to find it anyway.
So, he gave her a neutral smile that gave her the space she needed. He had his computer out and ready, the cursor blinking at him. He'd already taken notes while he'd been cooking. "First, I need you to send me the contract. I know a specialist who will look at it for you. Good?"
She nodded. "I've had a couple top attorneys look at it already."
"Well, we'll see. I have some incredibly brilliant minds at my disposal." He handed her his phone, and she called her attorney, and then they called his.