Chapter Fifteen
W hen Miles entered the station, he waved to Dee, who was busy on a call, then walked through to the main room and sat at his desk.
His thoughts were still on Tanner and the fact that he’d agreed to dinner.
Miles had seen the hesitation before Tanner said yes, which made sense.
They’d had sex, and Miles didn’t think Tanner had expected that any more than he had.
But instead of putting distance between them, it had left Miles wanting to spend more time with him.
He dropped a file onto his desk, switched on his computer, and stared at the screen without taking in a word. A few minutes later, footsteps crossed the room. Looking up, he saw TJ heading toward him with a mug in one hand. “You okay?”
Miles looked up. “I’m fine.”
TJ held out the mug. “You don’t look fine.”
Miles took the coffee. “I’m alright.”
TJ was quiet for a second, then glanced around the room. Two of the deputies were talking near the back door. He looked back at Miles. “Office.”
Miles frowned. “TJ—”
“Now.”
Miles frowned but got to his feet and followed him through. Once the door was shut, TJ turned to face him. “This about Tanner?”
Miles was quiet for a second, then nodded. “Partly.”
TJ waited.
Miles rubbed a hand over his jaw. “He took Savannah to daycare intake. They asked for paperwork.”
TJ’s expression changed. “And he doesn’t have it.”
“No.”
TJ exhaled slowly and leaned back against the desk. “That’s a problem.”
Miles nodded. “Yeah.”
“Daycare, school, doctors. Sooner or later one of them is going to push.”
“I know.”
TJ folded his arms. “And if there’s no paperwork, all it takes is one report.”
Miles looked at the floor for a second. “He’s raising her, TJ. He’s doing everything right. But legally he’s exposed.”
TJ looked at him steadily. “We knew this when he came back.”
Miles pushed a hand through his hair and leaned forward, forearms braced on his knees. “She’s clean. Fed. He knows what she needs before she asks half the time. He’s been doing it every day for years.”
TJ didn’t interrupt.
“He’s not neglecting her,” Miles went on. “He loves and cares for her. She’s his sister. He wouldn’t have run if he didn’t. He’s just got nothing legal backing him up.”
TJ looked down at the floor for a second, then back at Miles. “That’s enough for CPS to get involved and as officers we should contact them.” TJ exhaled. “But I watched him at the BBQ and saw how attentive he is to her and how much she loves him. I also saw how he watches people.”
“Yeah.”
“And if he thinks anybody’s coming too close, he’ll run again.”
Miles met his eyes. “That’s what I’m trying to avoid.”
Miles had already seen what happened when it came to Savannah. Tanner tightened up straight away. He watched doors, windows, people, always ready to move if he had to. If Miles brought up the paperwork and didn’t handle it carefully, Tanner would take it as a threat.
“You going to mention this to him?” TJ asked.
“I need to,” Miles said. “But I have to approach it the right way.”
TJ nodded slowly. “You do.”
“If I come at him with what could happen, all he’s going to hear is reports and Savannah being taken away.”
“And he’ll shut down.”
“Or disappear again.”
TJ drummed his fingers against the desk. “Then don’t make it about what he’s doing wrong.”
“He isn’t doing anything wrong.”
“You know that. I know that. Tanner probably won’t believe either of us though.” TJ held his gaze. “Make it practical. Here’s the gap. Here’s what it could affect. Here’s who can help you sort it out.”
It was the right approach, and he already knew it. He just didn’t like how careful it had to be. One wrong word and Tanner would hear a potential threat where Miles was offering support.
“He’s not going to trust easy,” TJ told him.
“No.”
“Especially not with this.”
“No.”
TJ gave him a long look, then pushed to his feet. “Then be honest.”
Miles snorted. “That your advice?”
“It is. You don’t have to fix it in one conversation. You just have to make sure he knows you’re not trying to take anything from him and that we’re here to help.”
Miles nodded, and a couple of minutes later, left TJ’s office and went back to his desk. He knew what Tanner would hear if this went badly. He knew what men in uniform had probably meant in Tanner’s life before now. He also knew the window was closing, whether Tanner wanted it to or not.
That was part of the problem. This wasn’t only about Savannah and paperwork anymore.
Miles wanted Tanner, but more than that, he liked him.
Enough that the thought of handling this badly didn’t sit right with him.
And he wasn’t only thinking about Tanner anymore.
Savannah had worked her way into it too.
An hour later, Miles was in the break room staring at his sandwich when Cody came in through the back door from the lot. He took one look at Miles and went to the fridge. “That serious?”
Miles didn’t bother asking what he meant. “Just some things I need to sort out.”
Cody pulled out a bottle of water and shut the fridge with his hip. “Want to talk about it?” Cody looked at him. "About him?"
“Are you here to make this worse?” Miles leaned back in his chair and watched Cody.
“Probably.” Cody twisted the cap off the bottle. “Go on.”
Miles gave him the short version and Cody listened without interrupting, nodding occasionally. When Miles finished, Cody leaned against the counter and drank some water. “He’ll hear that there's a problem before he hears that you’re there to help.”
“I know.”
“You say one thing wrong and he’ll spend the night figuring out which route out of town gives him the best head start.”
Miles looked at him. “That bad?”
Cody held his gaze. "Worse."
“I think Tanner’s been making decisions with one goal in mind for years.” Cody lowered the bottle. “How to keep her safe and stop anyone from splitting them up. Once a person lives that way long enough, it’s hard to change.”
Miles had already figured as much, but hearing Cody say it added more weight. Cody knew what survival did to a person. He’d survived his own.
“He agreed to dinner,” Miles said.
Cody’s mouth twitched. “That shocked you?”
“A little.”
“You’re not blind. He’s not either.”
Miles ignored that. “I was thinking of bringing it up then.”
Cody studied him for a second. “You planning on going to dinner and mentioning it?”
“No.”
“Good.”
Miles rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. “I’m serious.”
“I know.” Cody’s voice dropped. “That’s why I’m answering seriously. Don’t spring it on him in a way that makes him think the whole date was a setup. If you bring it up, it needs to be after he knows exactly why you’re there.”
Miles exhaled heavily. “I’m not trying to play him,” Miles eventually said.
“I know that.” Cody straightened. “Don’t sound like a deputy when you speak to him. Sound like a man telling him there’s a problem and asking Tanner if he wants help.”
Miles looked down at the table. “You trust me with this?”Cody held his gaze. “I’ve been where he is. I know how this could go if you don’t handle it carefully.”
“Yeah.” Miles nodded.
Cody twisted the cap back on the bottle. “He won’t trust easily, and if he does, it’ll matter more than you think. Don’t take that lightly.”
“I won’t.”
After Cody left, Miles finally picked up the file on his desk and made himself work for the next couple of hours.
Reports. A call-out note from the previous shift.
A follow-up on a vehicle complaint near the edge of town.
He got through all of it, but Tanner never moved far from his mind.
Every time Miles thought about their date, the same thing kept coming back to him.
He couldn’t afford to handle this badly.
That evening, when the station had quieted down and the light outside had begun to fade, Miles stood by one of the windows and looked out over Main Street. He thought about Tanner at home with Savannah and the life he had built with no help and no legal protection.
If preschool kept asking, or a doctor wanted paperwork, or somebody made a report, things could go wrong fast. Tanner already knew it. Miles had seen the change in him the second he looked at his phone.
Miles rested one hand on the window frame and made a decision. He was going to bring it up during dinner, but he was going to do it carefully. He would tell Tanner the truth, make it clear he saw the risk for what it was, and offer help that kept Tanner in control of the next step.
Pushing away from the window, Miles grabbed his keys and headed out. Dinner was tomorrow night, and whether Tanner knew it yet or not, Miles was already treating this with the care it deserved.