Pulse Points

“It’ll hurt worse if you don’t.”

He buried himself in her…

Suddenly Kasey jerked herself upright, her body bathed in a cold sweat while a wave of despair washed through her. Nothing she could ever say or do would excuse her despicable behavior that night so long ago.

She would never forgive herself.

Having grown up in a strict, religious home where guilt was the weapon of choice, Kasey had had little freedom before going away to college. Once on her own, she’d been highly susceptible to the fun and parties of the campus fraternities and sororities.

At one of those functions, she’d met Mark Ellis and soon after they had fallen in love. Or so she’d thought. One evening he had reneged on taking her to a private party. Because she was so upset at not getting to attend, he’d asked a frat buddy to sub for him.

Nothing had prepared Kasey for the charismatic and charming Tanner Hart. The second they met, sexual tension had leaped between them. After hours of laughing, dancing and drinking, they hadn’t been able to keep their hands off each other and ended up making love.

Nine months later and much to her shame, Kasey had given birth to a healthy baby boy.

She had never told Tanner that she’d borne his son.

She had told Mark that she couldn’t see him anymore, that she was pregnant with another man’s child, a man who would remain nameless. Mark was devastated yet he had assured her that he could forgive her for betraying him, that he loved her and wanted to marry her. He’d gone on to promise her that no one would ever hear the truth from him and that he’d raise Brock as his own.

Kasey, determined not to further humiliate herself or her family, had settled into the role of student, wife and mother, giving up all her dreams of becoming a successful career woman.

Suddenly the phone rang, startling her back to the present. With an unsteady hand and pounding heart, Kasey lifted the receiver.

“Hi, Mom.”

“Hi, darling,” she whispered around the tears in her throat.

Eight

I t had been several days since he’d seen Kasey and she had accepted his offer. Since then, he’d been on a short campaign jaunt that had gone really well considering he’d been in enemy territory, so to speak.

Right now, he and Butler appeared to be running neck and neck according to the loosely taken polls. Jack and Irene, along with the rest of his backers, were jubilant.

“By the time November rolls around,” Irene had told him on the way home, “you’re going to kick his ass.”

He shot her a side glance before concentrating once again on the road. “Don’t get too cocky. We’re just getting started.”

“You had them eating out of your hands.”

“Butler’s good at that, too, remember.”

“He might have a pedigree, but that’s all he has. He’s just a big bag of hot, stale air.”

“I’m sure the same is being said about me.”

“Only you’ll do what you say you’re going to do. He won’t. His record proves that.” Irene paused, then changed the subject. “You should be excited by the way things are going.”

He was, but cautiously excited. He knew that Buck Butler intended to hold on to his senate seat no matter what the cost.

Though his passion for Texas and the possibility of serving its constituents burned as brightly in him as it did Butler, Tanner had every intention of sticking strictly to the issues. Slinging mud was distasteful to him. He had an idea that wouldn’t sit well with Jack or Irene, but he didn’t care. If he couldn’t win the election on the issues and his reputation as a solid, dependable businessman, then he just wouldn’t win.

So far, he hadn’t had to worry. Surprisingly Butler had also kept on the high road. Now that Tanner had caught him in the polls, Butler’s true personality would likely come out. Underneath that charming, good ole boy facade was a backstabbing bastard.

No one knew that better than Tanner. Years ago, before he’d made it big in his developing company, he’d had a business deal with Butler that had gone sour. Butler had left him holding the bag to the tune of a half million dollars. It had taken him years to pay that off.

Butler wouldn’t hesitate to hit below the belt again. He had plenty of ammo—Tanner’s past. Butler could have a field day with that if he were able to get Tanner’s juvenile records. They were supposed to be sealed, but nowadays, nothing was sacred.

Tanner wasn’t proud of his past, but it was obviously something he couldn’t change. He was stronger for it. He had learned that life was filled with hard knocks and that if you didn’t knock back, you were screwed.

He grew up as an only child without anything—love or amenities. His dad had been killed in Vietnam when Tanner was in elementary school. His mother, weak and whiny, had turned to the bottle for comfort, leaving him to fend for himself.

As a result, he’d been in and out of trouble with the law, often taken away from his mother and put in the foster care system. Then she’d shape up for a while and he’d be back with her. But her good behavior never lasted. She’d get back on the bottle, and he’d be whisked away again.

The year he’d graduated from high school, she died of liver failure. He’d been on his own, had to scrape for himself. Because he was intelligent and had done well academically, he’d received a partial scholarship to college where he had excelled. After graduating at the top of his class, he’d had the good fortune and sense to marry Norma. Under her influence, he’d fine-tuned some of his rough edges. But it had been his combination of book and street smarts that had gotten him where he was today.

Along with his drive, ambition, and love of competition, he had accomplished far more than he’d ever dreamed. And now, he was riding even higher, thriving on his newfound love—politics. If elected, he had a chance to make a real difference in people’s lives. That appealed to him.

Still, he wouldn’t sell his soul for a seat in the senate.

On the other hand, he would sell his soul for a chance to make amends to Kasey Ellis. Just thinking of her made his heart race. He had seen her twice now, and both times, he’d felt a jolt—a sock deep in the gut that was palatable.

It was just that she was so damn sexy and didn’t seem to know it. Her sassy smile, the subtle whisper of passion in the sway of her hips, the way her lipstick looked like she’d been thoroughly kissed, had awakened his carnal instincts.

His reaction was crazy and could go nowhere. However, he couldn’t control how he felt. What he could do was keep his feelings under wraps. No one, least of all Kasey, must ever know his true motivation, or she’d slam the door in his face quicker than he could take his next breath.

Contrary to what he’d told her, he had known her plight, known that she’d been in financial trouble since Mark’s death, that she was struggling to keep her son in school, and that she’d returned to Rushmore and gone to work for Shirley Parker.

His deep sense of guilt, shame and betrayal had been the driving force behind his underhandedness. He saw a chance to make up finally for some of the pain he’d brought her.

What he hadn’t known was that Kasey had witnessed Shirley’s death. On learning that, he’d been more determined than ever to help her. Miraculously, she had accepted his offer.

Now, maybe he could start the healing process within himself. Or maybe that wasn’t possible. Maybe he would never be able to atone for his sins that night years ago. When he thought about what happened, which was far too often, he got down on himself.

Only a lowlife would take a friend’s girl to a party then take her virginity.

Tanner let go of a harsh breath, then rubbed the back of his tense neck, feeling the muscles bunch under his hand. When he raised his head, Paul Darby, the right-hand man in his company, was standing in the doorway.

Paul was big and robust with a wide mouth and cauliflower ears that were more pronounced due to the horn-rimmed glasses that hooked over them. He might be homely, but when it came to overseeing the construction sites, he was a gem. Tanner didn’t know what he would do without him, especially now that he’d entered the political arena.

“If this is a bad time, I’ll come back.” Paul’s tone was hesitant.

Tanner motioned him into his office. “Actually, your timing’s perfect. My mind should’ve been on business and it wasn’t.”

Paul grinned. “Bet you were thinking about the campaign.”

Tanner offered no explanation. Instead, he said, “Something’s going on, or you wouldn’t be here.”

“Right, boss, and I sure hate to bother you with—”