Chapter 34
Roo
The shrill sound of sirens makes me jolt. I sit up high enough in the booth to see a firetruck shoot past down O’Connell Road.
Fuck.
Every time Tanner mentions a fire or a lot of callouts, my stomach gets so tight, I might be sick. I hate this.
But I’ve got to suck it up.
My phone vibrates again with a call from Mom, and I hurry to silence it.
“So, Royce, maybe you could present the kids’ dance awards for us?”
I do my best not to cringe. She’s my future mother-in-law, after all. Jesus. “Ah …” I try to pull my thoughts from the possible emergency and focus on the table of people I really could have done without meeting today. “I can’t dance.”
There’s a round of chuckles. “You won’t be dancing. You’ll have a list, and you hand the awards out.”
“Yeah, I’m not great with kids.”
Joan turns to me sharply, and just when I’m sure I’m going to be hit with questioning about what that means, I’m saved by Piper bringing over our coffees.
“Royce,” she says in a teasing tone. “I never thought I’d see you on a planning committee.”
Joan laughs. “He’s not entirely here by choice. But you know he and Tanner could never say no to each other. I’m shamelessly exploiting it.”
“Mmhmm. That’s never changed.”
“I doubt it ever will.”
“Not if Royce stays, it won’t. You should have seen poor Tanner’s face when he heard Royce was leaving again.”
My attention clicks back in. “What?”
“You were leaving?” Joan asks.
I was? I’m trying to work out where this has come from as Piper keeps talking.
“Summer heard you and Circus talking in the bar the other night.”
It hits me all at once. I mentioned leaving if we didn’t get together. Something twists in my gut as I look up at her. “And how the hell did Tanner find out?”
She shifts awkwardly.
“You told him? What, did you think that would get him to finally go on a date with you?” I’m being a bitch, and I don’t really give a shit. My heart won’t stop pounding.
“No, I told him so he’d finally get his shit together and tell you how he feels. And it worked, didn’t it?”
“When did you tell him?”
She looks surprised by the question. “Ah, I don’t know. A week or so ago? Right after you picked up your bed.”
My bed. The one I’ve never used because the day we bought it was the day Tanner suddenly discovered all these feelings he has for me.
I bury my face in my hands.
He’s always said he’ll do anything to keep me here.
Please don’t let doing me be “anything.”
“Royce, are you okay?”
I force a smile for Joan even as I stand and leave the booth.
“Totally fine. Just not feeling very well.” I tap my temple, and yeah, I’m using my seizures as an excuse to get out of this.
It wouldn’t be the first time, because if I’ve got to deal with those assholes, they can at least be useful in awkward conversations.
Or at least, an awkward conversation with Joan. Instead, I’m going to head home and prepare for an awkward conversation with Tanner.
Because I know he’ll never admit it.
But I can always tell when he’s lying.
And if he’s lying about this, I’ll be gone by tomorrow.
It’ll be the thing that finally breaks me.
When I get home, there’s still hours until Tanner’s shift is done, and he doesn’t reply to my text, so there’s a good chance he’s still busy with whatever emergency was happening earlier. I can’t be mad. Not yet anyway.
That doesn’t stop me from feeling sick, though.
Dear God, I can’t sit still.
I’m working myself up to stupid levels over a massive leap my cynical brain won’t let me drop, but for fuck’s sake, what are the chances? I’ve been in love with him forever, and now, now he suddenly feels the same way?
I grab my laptop to distract myself and find a Post-it note stuck to the top.
A kangaroo is basically a T-rex with fur.
The fight leaches out of me, because no matter what, I can’t be pissed with Tanner for long. It’d be like kicking a puppy.
I open my laptop and idly click through house listings. There’s still sweet fuck all, but I flag another one that’s closer to Portland than I’d like.
My phone vibrates beside me with another call from Mom that I silence. She’s the last person I can talk to right now. I’m sure all she wants is to check up on how things are going, and talking to her about Tanner when I don’t have a solid answer is not how I want my afternoon to go.
I send her a quick text letting her know I’m busy and I’ll call her another day. My phone immediately starts to ring again.
Swallowing back a groan, I answer.
“Well, I’m glad to know you’re alive,” Mom deadpans. And yep. She’s definitely where I got some of my dry attitude from.
“Shouldn’t my text have told you that?”
“You’re funny.”
I hum as I stand up and start to pace. Something about talking to Mom makes me feel like I need to be moving.
“Why have you been avoiding my calls?”
“I’ve been busy.”
Her silence somehow manages to be skeptical.
“I was! Tanner’s mom needed me to help with some shit for Sunflora.”
Mom laughs. “You used to love that festival. How did you grow up so cynical?”
“I’ve always been cynical. I only loved it because it was another excuse to hang out with Tanner.”
“Like you needed an excuse.”
She’s got me there. “Okay, are you calling for a reason, or just to tease me over my boyfriend?”
She bites off her automatic response, and I’d put money down that she was going to warn me about Tanner the way she has every time since senior year. Instead she says, “Well, thank God it’s going well, because I have news for you.”
“Which is?”
“Eric Fletcher has a property out on Darby Lane that’s been sitting there for years.
It’s on a big lot, but it’s … Well, I still think the whole place needs to be torn down.
Anyway, after I got your text the other day, I’ve been trying to push him to sell it.
He called earlier to say he goes out for maintenance once a month, and he’ll be there today if you want to meet him. ”
I stop pacing. “Today?”
“Yes. That’s why I’ve been trying to call you.”
“How long will he be there for?”
“Maybe another hour or so.”
“Shit, okay, yeah.” I scrub my hand through my hair. “I’ll, I don’t know, I’ll sort something out. Thanks, Mom.”
“Of course, sweetie. Good luck.”
Yep, I’m going to need it.
I don’t have a driver’s license, and Darby’s Lane is a good ten minutes’ drive from here. I guess I could walk, but if Eric up and leaves early, I’ll miss him.
I try Circus, but he doesn’t answer, and as I scroll a little further down, I pause on Leon’s number. He’s probably working, but I try him anyway.
“Hey, Royce.”
“Oh, hey, I wasn’t actually expecting you to answer.”
“Yeah, just got off work.”
“See, I knew the building industry was full of slackers.”
His laugh is deep and warm. “So this call is a surprise …”
I can’t blame him for seeming confused when we haven’t spoken since that disastrous trip to Port Welling.
“Yeah, sorry. I’ve got a bit of an urgent favor I was hoping you could help with …”
When Leon shows up five minutes later, it goes a long way toward making me feel guilty for my lack of effort in our friendship. He’s gruff and thickset, which makes people kinda scared of him, but he’s one of those guys who will go out of his way for his friends.
“So, what made Eric Fletcher think of selling? I’ve been at him for years.”
“My mom.”
“Ah … she always was a bit scary. Even when we were kids.”
“Trust me, nothing’s changed.”
Leon chuckles. “I’ve wanted that bit of land for years. Wish my mom had talked him into it.”
“Nuh-uh.” I point my finger at him in warning. “Don’t even try and steal this from me. It’s the only place close to town available. Tanner needs this.”
“Don’t worry, I wouldn’t do that to Tanner. Besides, Eric would never sell to me anyway. He thinks I’m gonna put units on there.” Leon throws me a bewildered look. “How many people does he think wanna live in Sunbury?”
“Man, you’ve got me.”
Leon moves to turn the radio down. “What about you? If you’re looking at buying this place, does that mean you’re here to stay for good?”
Am I? I wish I could answer that question, but it’s come a couple of hours too soon. Maybe once I talk to Tanner and find out why this is all happening now, and have him assure me, once and for all, that his feelings are real, then I’ll know how to answer.
“I actually really hope so.”