Chapter Nine #2
TJ watched him too closely. “What?”
“Nothing.” Miles shook his head.
Orsen gave him a look that said he didn’t buy that for a second. “You sure?”
“Yeah.”
Cody was still studying him. “How’d Tanner seem with Savannah?”
Miles didn’t even have to think about that. “Solid.”
Cody nodded like that was the answer he expected.
Miles went on before he could stop himself. “Tired as hell. Spooked. Ready to fight if he thought I was pushing too far. But with her?” He paused, frowning slightly. “He knew where she was every second. Every sound she made, he reacted. Every question about her, he was ready.”
TJ said, “That tracks.”
“You all sound like you expected this.”
“We did,” Cody said. Miles looked at him and Cody shrugged. “Not the exact details. But Tanner was always protective. He wasn’t wild or apt to do stupid things. When he ran, he’d have had one goal and one only.” Cody’s gaze sharpened. “To keep her.”
The room fell silent as Miles picked up his beer and took a long drink. It didn’t help much.
TJ broke the silence. “So. Practical stuff. I can push the utilities office tomorrow morning. Get somebody out there quickly if Tanner makes the call.”
“I left him the numbers,” Miles said.
“You think he’ll use them?” TJ asked.
Miles thought about Tanner’s face every time help came near him. “Maybe. If he thinks it’s for Savannah and not something else.”
Cody got up and went to the counter. “I can put together groceries.”
Miles looked over. “He won’t take charity.”
Cody glanced back at him. “Then don’t call it charity.”
“Say it’s because half the town’s got spare food and Mrs. Hemsworth threatened bodily harm if nobody sent something over,” Orsen told him.
That got a real laugh out of TJ. “That might work.”
Santino tapped the table. “Or say it’s on loan until he’s settled. He won’t feel like he’s some charity case.”
Miles huffed out a breath. “He might hate that too.”
“Maybe,” Cody said. “But if it gets food in the house, he can hate it while Savannah eats.”
Miles leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling for a second. “I can take something by tomorrow.”
TJ’s head turned toward him. “You can.”
Miles lowered his gaze. TJ was watching him again with that quiet, sharp look that didn’t miss much.
Before TJ could open his mouth, Cody said, “You don’t have to fix everything tonight.”
Miles gave him a flat look. “Who said I was trying to?”
“All of this.” Cody waved a hand at him. “You’re practically vibrating.”
Orsen smirked into his water, then chuckled. “There’s nothing wrong with wanting to help.”
Miles looked down at his plate, seeing he’d eaten most of it without noticing. “I’m fine.”
TJ snorted. “No, you’re not.”
“Thanks for the support.”
“That was support.”
Santino’s voice was calm as he spoke. “You look like a man who’s just realized a situation is more complicated than he wanted it to be.”
Miles met his eyes. “That obvious?”
“Yes,” Santino said.
Orsen looked at his partner, amusement showing on his face. “You didn’t soften that much.”
“You didn’t want me to soften too much.”
Cody came back to the table and sat down. “Whatever’s going on in your head, don’t make Tanner pay for it.”
Miles’ gaze snapped to him. “What do you mean?”
Cody returned it. “He’s carrying enough already.”
Miles swallowed. “I know.”
“Good.”
TJ leaned his elbows on the table. “So tomorrow we keep it simple. Utilities. Food. School office if he’s ready. Clinic if needed. No drama unless someone else brings it.”
Miles nodded.
Orsen asked, “You want me and Santino around if things get noisy in town? Both of us are used to it.”
“Most of it was directed at me,” Santino grunted.
TJ shook his head. “Not yet, Orsen. I want fewer people in Tanner’s face, not more.” To Santino, TJ said, “Been there, done that.”
The conversation shifted after that. Orsen told a story about a guy on the roofing job on their house who’d managed to nail his own boot to a beam. Santino corrected three details in a tone so dry it made Cody laugh.
Miles listened more than he spoke. His mind kept circling back. Tanner in that doorway with his body between Miles and the rest of the house. Tanner with Savannah on his hip. Tanner kissing him hard enough to knock the sense clean out of him.
By the time he stood to leave, Miles still had no idea what he was going to do where Tanner was concerned. Cody walked him to the door while TJ stayed back to clear the table. Orsen and Santino were still at the table, talking quietly and smiling at each other.
At the door, Cody handed Miles a grocery bag. Bread. Pasta. Soup. A couple of things that looked easy and quick to cook.
Miles looked down at it. “You packed this already?”
Cody shrugged. “I know how to use a kitchen.”
Miles almost smiled. “He’ll probably tell me to get lost.”
“Maybe,” Cody said. “But still take it.” Cody’s voice dropped. “And whatever this is for you, don’t confuse wanting him with understanding him. Those aren’t the same thing.”
Miles looked at him sharply. “What?” How the hell had Cody picked up on his attraction?
Cody didn’t back off. “He’s had a harder road than most. Keep that in mind.” Cody studied him for a second, then nodded once. “Take your time with him.” Cody stepped back. “Drive safe.”
Miles stepped out into the cold with the grocery bag in one hand and his jacket zipped up against the wind. He crossed the yard, got into his truck, and sat there for a moment before starting the engine.
He should have gone straight home, but instead he sat there with Tanner’s situation in his head and everything Cody had said bouncing around his head.
Miles started the truck and drove off, knowing full well he was already in deeper than he should be and he’d only met Tanner twice. Sleeping with him had only made it worse.