Page 21 of Let Me Be the One
One good thing about Callie’s touch, it brought him back around, helping him to focus again. It was still that way. Talking about his past, about the shit his dad had done… It would always plague him. He knew it. He worried that he was broken in ways that time wouldn’t fix. For that, he hated the man who had fathered him. Never, not once, had he visited his gravesite, and if he ever did it would be to spit on the ground.
“Tanner?” she asked gently, the soft tips of her fingers drifting over his rough knuckles. “What did you do once you were out? You were so young and had to be so scared, and with a broken bone…”
The way she said it, it did sound bad—and at the time, yeah, it was terrifying. He remembered feeling both free, but also utterly lost, so lost that the pain had receded behind other worries.
It was past time to put an end to the story. He hadn’t meant to share so many details anyway. “I left the house and started walking. Addie found me on her way home from a late shift and the rest is history.” Talk about an abbreviated ending. “I should add that she worked her tail off to get me and then to keep me.”
“What an absolutely amazing woman,” Callie whispered with awe. “I’m so thankful she’s the one who found you that night.”
He gave one quick nod because he was damn grateful, too. Now, being older and wiser, he knew that night could have gone in a very different direction. “Addie is a miracle worker, an angel, and a mother down to her soul, all wrapped up in strength and wisdom.”
Callie slipped her hand under his, gave his fingers asqueeze and then retreated. “I think I sensed all that. A tiny bit of it, at least.” She sipped more coffee, turned the cup a few times and traced a finger around the rim before saying, “Full disclosure, I walked into Reggie’s house and seriously wanted to groan. But Glory was there, already stressing and I knew you were watching, waiting for a single weakness.”
The teasing way she said it took the sting out of the words, yet he still felt like a dick. “Not entirely accurate. True, I’d rather you sell to me. Make it easier on both of us, you know?” It was all part of his big plan, a bone-deep need he had to put some good into the world, to give back even a small part of what Addie had given to him. “But while you’re coming to the conclusion that you’re not cut out for country life, I wouldn’t want to see you miserable.”
“Good, because I’m not yet certain what I want to do.”
Conflicting emotions kept Tanner still. “So you’re not planning to stay?” Why the hell did that make his heart sink?
“I wasn’t, not until you seemed so set on me going.” She gave him a crooked smile. “Like the sugar thing, I tend to dig in and get stubborn when I feel challenged.”
Well, damn. Fighting a grin, he asked, “How about if I retract all my initial complaints?”
“Too late. They’re already out there and I’m already thinking…things.”
Parts of his body took notice of how she said that and what it might imply.
“After Addie offered to go back with me today, I’m hoping she can make some suggestions on a cleaning crew I can hire and a junk hauler to remove a lot ofruined stuff. I’d like to get a sense of what I’m dealing with and I can’t until I can see past the trash and filth.”
Funny, but the idea of her sticking around wasn’t as bad as he’d first thought. “In the end, you’ll see. The house needs more work than it’s worth and keeping up with the land is a lot for one person.”
Grinning, she leaned in to say, “Plus chickens I haven’t yet met, and goats that make the creepiest sounds ever.”
“That, too.”
Her grin settled into a sweet smile. “I might surprise you.”
She already had. “Every time I’ve ever seen you, you’re smiling.”
“Well…” She leaned closer still, as if to confide in him. “Don’t tell anyone, but that’s sort of my defense mechanism. I smile when I’m mad or scared. When I’m feeling a little lost or worried. When I’m sad, or when I’m ready to cry. A big smile not only confuses people, but it makes me feel better. And everyone looks prettier smiling, you know?”
He didn’t want to think of her crying, but he imagined she’d be pretty even then. At least to him. “How is it you inherited Reggie’s house?”
Before she answered, she stood and asked, “Mind if I get more coffee?”
“Help yourself.”
She refilled her cup, leaving room for more cream, and offered to refill his, too. Once that was done, she settled back into her seat, and sighed. “Like I said, Reggie was Dad’s brother and from what I was told, he was always in trouble. Drunk driving, petty theft, fighting—things that had him in and out of jail. Alwaysneeding money. At some point my mother put her foot down and refused to have any more association with him. Maybe Dad was glad for the excuse because he cut ties with Reggie.”
“Sounds like most families I’ve seen—imperfect in one way or another.”
“I guess, but I still felt bad for Reggie. Whenever he was around, he was always funny. He’d tell me jokes that my mother deemed improper.”
“Yeah, I can imagine. When I was young he told me a few, too. Difference is, Addie laughed with us.”
“Ha! I can imagine that. She’s much warmer and down to earth than my mother.”
Thank God. Taking in two troubled boys definitely required someone earthy.
