Tanner laughed. “No. I don’t have one of those rooms.”
“But…”
“Shh!” he cleared his throat. “Just…don’t let him get into anything he shouldn’t.” He leaned down and I definitely heard him whisper, “But yes, including the room with the pictures and red string.”
Nigel nodded.
“Very well, I’m off!” Tanner tipped his hat at me as he rolled his suitcase.
“Wait, how long will you be gone?” I asked.
“If she falls asleep I’ll be back tonight. Otherwise I’ll be back tomorrow.”
“What the hell does that mean? Are you going to bang her while she’s…”
“Good heavens, no. But I’m known to drive too quickly and it scares people. I’ll drive stupid and slow if she stays awake. Scratch all of that. I’ll just put her to sleep. Nigel, get me the sleep aid, will you?”
Nigel nodded and went back into the kitchen.
“You’re drugging this girl?”
“It’s not a sex thing, Matt. I’m not even interested in her like that.” He stood there for a moment. “I mean…she’s hot, don’t get me wrong. Beautiful, really. She has that girl next door vibe that I’m so fond of. Sorry what was I saying?” He snapped his fingers. “Right. She’s not a match for me.”
“Okay…”
“I promise everything is fine. I’m not drugging anyone for sex purposes, and you’re not going to snoop. I’ll be back this evening.”
Nigel hurried in and handed Tanner a to-go cup.
“I’ll need a sippy cup too,” Tanner said. “I haven’t seen the little one, but I’m thinking small.”
Nigel ran back out of the room.
“The little one?” I asked.
“Well, it would be quite alarming if he was a teen. That would add in a whole new set of questions I’d have to get to the bottom of.”
“Wait, how many people are on this road trip?”
“Aren’t you full of questions this morning. Don’t you have to get to work?”
“I thought you wanted me to stay in my room.”
Tanner laughed. “Touché.”
“But yeah, I do need to get to work.” I left my sausage plate uneaten and stood up. “I’ll walk down with you.”
“Nope,” Tanner said.
“Why?”
“Because I’m doing things. You wouldn’t understand. Just…don’t follow me.”
“Well now I really want to follow you.”
“No.”
I just laughed. Because I had no idea what was going on. And he was acting stranger than usual.
