Tarzan & Janine (19 page)

Tanner’s heart stopped then sped on. In that moment he knew, she was the one for him. He plucked the wallet from her fingers as if her hands were dangerous, and boy-howdy were they. “You can’t answer the door like that,” he growled, then shoved her behind the door.

Shirtless and a little flustered, Tanner opened the front door a crack. Just as he suspected a pimple-faced, teenage delivery boy stood tapping his toe with an insulated pizza bag held over his shoulder.

With the pizza boy on one side of the door and a naked Janine on the other, Tanner was so befuddled he dropped his wallet. When he bent to retrieve it, feminine fingers reached out and pinched his ass. Startled, he came up so fast he hit the pizza bag, flipping it high into the air to land upside down on the floor.

“Man, like that pizza’s toast.” The teenager shook his head as he picked it up. He pulled the box out of the bag and opened the lid. Pepperoni and cheese stretched down from the top of the box. “Yeah, it’s a mess. Want me to get you another? If you’ll let me use your phone, I’ll call back to the store and—”

“No, no. That one will be just fine.” Tanner stuffed a couple bills in the boy’s hands and grabbed the box. “Thanks.”

Tanner slammed the door in the pizza boy’s face, sailed the box across the room, and lifted Janine into his arms. There were better things to do than eat pizza.

Chapter Thirteen

The next morning, Tanner drove Janine to the airport after staying up the entire night.

“I won’t be back until noon on Friday, and I expect to be busy the entire time. So I might not be able to call.” Janine determinedly set Tanner’s expectations up front so he wouldn’t be waiting around the phone for her call.

“Break a leg, my sweet Jane.” He held her close one last time. “I’ll see you when you get back.”

“I’ll be there for the next commercial, Tanner,” she promised.

After a poignant goodbye kiss, Janine made her way to her economy-class seat next to the window. She could see Tanner standing at the window of the terminal, scanning the length of the aircraft until he spotted her. He smiled and gave her a thumbs-up. Knowing he was rooting for her made her warm inside, and at the same time, she felt cold without him close by.

Damn
. What was she going to do? She’d lost her heart to an Austin car salesman. That was the last thing she’d intended to do. Maybe this trip away would put things in perspective, and she’d find that distance was all she needed. By the time the plane pulled away from the terminal and Tanner’s smiling face, Janine wasn’t so sure her plan would work out quite the way she’d hoped. Time would tell.

The flight was long and boring, which was just what she needed to catch up on a little of the rest she’d missed during the night shared with Tanner. Janine drifted off to sleep with a smile on her face, recalling the gooey pizza they’d peeled off the box to feed to each other in the wee hours of the morning. Nothing had ever tasted so good.

* * *

Tanner paced the showroom floor, checking his watch. He proudly wore the Tarzan outfit in anticipation of the weekly Peschke Motors commercial. All he needed was for Janine to show up to be his Jane. Everything else was ready, and they only had about thirty minutes until the cameras rolled. Where was she?

“You’re as jumpy as a caged animal.” Scott leaned against a shiny pre-owned Corvette. “Have you heard anything about Janine’s flight?”

“I called an hour ago. The airline said her flight had been delayed. How late could it be? She was supposed to be here at noon.” His hand scraped through his hair. “I hope she didn’t get stuck in Denver. They had a heck of a storm stirring over Colorado.”

“What’s your backup plan if she’s a no show?”

Tanner shrugged. “I don’t have one. This whole concept depends on her being here.”

“The concept…or the man is dependant on her being here?”

Tanner stopped and glared at Scott who immediately raised his hands to ward off Tanner’s anger.

“Okay, okay, it’s none of my business. But this is the first time I’ve seen you go ape over a woman. Allow me the pleasure of laughing just a little.”

“There’s nothing to laugh about.” He rolled his shoulders to dispel some of the building tension. “She’s supposed to be back by now.”

“As unglued as you are now, how are you going to react when she leaves for good?”

“I’ll deal with that when and if the occasion arises.”

“Buddy, it’s a given, you should accept it and move on.” Scott patted Tanner’s back. “Janine’s headed for the bright lights and big city.”

“I know.” Tanner’s chin almost touched his chest. “I’ve always known it, but that fact doesn’t make it any easier.”

“Hey, monkey man, why so glum?” a heavenly voice floated from the doorway.

“Janine.” Tanner’s entire world lit up the moment he laid eyes on her wearing her Jane costume. Two giant steps had her in his arms, crushed to his chest, and swept into a deep soul-wrenching kiss. Holding her so close, he had delusions of never letting her go.

“If you don’t mind, I’d like to breathe,” she gasped, laughing at his exuberance. “You sure know how to make a girl feel missed.”

Scott cleared his throat. “Hi, Janine,”

“Hi yourself,” she said around Tanner’s arm.

“I hate to be the bearer of bad tidings and the one to break up this charming reunion, but you have about five minutes to get into place and read your lines.”

“So what’s the animal flavor of the day?” Janine pushed a stray strand of hair off Tanner’s forehead.

Damn, she looked good. Tanner’s tongue had to be hanging out because he felt he could lap her up like a dehydrated beast would water. “Flavor?”

“Animal?” She raised an eyebrow. “You always have an animal in the commercial. You aren’t changing things on my account, are you?”

“No, no.” Tanner shook his head to clear it. “We have a camel tonight. I wanted something that wouldn’t hurt you or cause any problems. The trainer assures me Sheik is as gentle as a lamb.”

“Sheik, is it? Well, let’s get out there. We have a commercial to do.”

“But how’d it go? Did you get the job?”

“No time to talk now. We can discuss it later. I see the cameraman waving.”

Tanner and Janine stepped out of the showroom into the night air and joined the camera crew and the animal trainer. Sheik stood placidly chewing his cud, unconcerned by the lights and noise of the people around him.

The trainer tapped the camel’s knees with a stick and the beast collapsed into a sitting position. “Climb on board, Miss Davis.”

“Climb on?” Janine smiled at Tanner. “Surely you don’t expect me to ride that?”

“Actually, that’s the idea.” Tanner grinned. “If you don’t mind, it’ll only be for a minute.”

Janine glanced at the boxy seat precariously strapped to the one-hump of the dromedary. “He won’t toss me, will he?”

“No, Sheik is as tame—” the trainer began.

Janine finished his sentence, “—as a lamb. I know. I’ve heard that one already—from a monkey trainer. Well, here goes nothing.” She dragged in a deep breath and climbed into the seat.

The animal trainer clicked his tongue, and the camel lurched forward climbing to his feet where he stood towering over Tanner with Janine even higher.

Tanner frowned up at Janine. “I didn’t realize he’d be so tall. You sure she’s okay up there?”

“As safe as a baby in a car seat,” the trainer assured him.

“Don’t you hurt her, you hear,” Tanner threatened the camel.

The animal tossed his head as if mocking the measly human standing beneath his chin.

“One minute,” cried the cameraman.

“Are you all right up there?” Tanner called up to Janine.

“Just fine. Since I’m so far up here, I take it I don’t need to worry about lines.”

“I’ll take care of it.” He loved that her attitude was light and flexible. “You just concentrate on holding on.”

“Not a problem. I have a death grip on this crazy seat.”

A shout from the cameraman caught their attention. “Five, four, three, two...”

“Hi, I’m Tanner Peschke of Peschke Motors. Does finding a dependable pre-owned car feel like trying to find an oasis in the middle of a desert? Then ride along with Janine and drop on by Peschke motors where we’ll quench your thirst with the car of your dreams.” Tanner swung his arm wide, turning to face the camel and the girl. “Join—”

Before he could finish his words, Sheik spit a slimy green stream of salivated hay square in the middle of Tanner’s face.

Completely taken off guard, Tanner stumbled backward, landing in the front seat of a BMW convertible and leaning heavily on the horn.

He scrubbed the slime from his eyes in time to see Sheik’s eyes roll back in his head. The camel backed away from the blaring car, yanking the frantic animal trainer off the ground with the force of his exit.

“Tanner!” Janine screamed from atop the frightened camel, which only scared the beast more. Jerking the reins out of the animal trainer’s hands, Sheik plowed through the crowd of onlookers, toppling camera-laden tripods, scattering people right and left.

Tanner struggled to get out of the convertible, leaping after the lumbering beast. Too late. Sheik was well on his way down the busy streets of Austin with a screaming Janine hanging on for dear life.

“Call 911! Call the fire department! Call someone! Janine’ll be killed if we don’t stop that camel.” Tanner jumped into the convertible whose horn pushed the camel over the edge then honked and beeped his way out of the busy car lot to chase after the runaway and his hapless rider.

Within a dozen blocks, he caught up to the speeding camel, but there wasn’t much he could do to stop him. So he followed along behind him, his gaze glued to Janine who flopped back and forth with each clumsy lurch.

I’m so sorry I got you into this, Janine. If—when we get you down from there, I promise to never put you at risk again.
Tanner sent a prayer to heaven to take care of Janine. She didn’t deserve to die or have all her bones broken because of his clumsy mistakes. She was everything to him and when he got her back down, he intended to tell her so.

If she left afterward, that action was okay but he had to tell her. Just in case a smidgen of a chance existed she would change her mind and stay. He’d do anything to keep Janine in his life. Even tackle a camel if he could.

Before long, Tanner could hear the screaming of sirens as no less than a dozen police cars converged on the street, taking up positions in the chase. They too kept a healthy distance from the camel, probably just as unsure of what to do as Tanner was.

Then the wop-wop-wop of rotary blades pierced his consciousness and looking up confirmed the presence of the eye-in-the-sky helicopter. Holy shit! A police escort and the helicopter? All for Austin’s darling of the jungle, Janine Davis. Despite his worry, Tanner smiled. He was so proud at how well she held on and stayed with the animal. When this was all said and done, she’d fare well with the public. How could she not?

Several miles from the dealership, Sheik’s jerky pace slowed. Tanner crawled behind them in his convertible and finally slammed the vehicle into park and leaped out of his seat. The camel was too busy heaving for air to notice when Tanner grabbed his reins and tied them to a nearby signpost.

Sheik didn’t argue. He was totally exhausted and immediately knelt and settled down to rest. Tanner was glad because he didn’t know the commands to make the animal get down. He wasn’t sure he could catch Janine if she were to jump from that high up.

“Janine, honey, are you all right?” He reached up to help her out of her seat.

“I don’t know.” Janine crawled off the seat and stood on terra firma. Her knees buckled. “Oh, Tanner. I was so scared.”

Tanner grabbed behind her legs and lifted her into his arms. “Shhh, baby.” He pressed kisses to her eyes and cheeks, followed by a deep one to her lips. The television news crews were already in position, capturing the entire ordeal on tape to be aired on every channel in the vicinity of Austin.

But Tanner didn’t care. He had Janine safe and sound, and he wasn’t going to let go any time soon.

* * *

“Well, Beans, I believe you can pay me that case of beer.” Joe Peschke clasped his hands behind his head and leaned back in his recliner. “I’d say that pretty much clinches his chances of makin’ a profit. The dealership will be positively hoppin’ with happy customers following that spectacle.”

Beans shook his head and gave Joe a sideways grin. “Gotta admit, I ain’t seen anything like that in all my born days. You got somethin’ special in that boy, and he’d be a fool to let that Janine go.”

“Doesn’t look like he’s going to. Do you think they’ll pass out kissin’ that long?”

“Don’t know, but what do you say about double or nothing, they do?”

“Nope, my bettin’ days are over,” Joe said with a shake of his head. “Can’t imagine toppin’ this one and I make it a habit to quit while I’m ahead.”

Beans chuckled. “Can’t say’s I blame you. Nope, can’t blame you. Think he’ll up and marry that woman?”