35. Deacon
DEACON
“So, how was your day?” Tanner asks casually as we sit out on his back deck, his hands giving him away as they clench the glass in his hand.
“It was busy. The countertops are gonna be a week late so I had to rearrange my schedule and hope I can get everything done before Thanksgiving.” Crossing one ankle over the other, I try to project a calmness I don’t quite feel.
Not because I don’t like small talk but because of whatever Tanner’s not telling me.
“Thanksgiving? I completely forgot that was coming up.” He rubs at his forehead, his weariness like a second skin. “That makes this more complicated.”
“What does?”
“I asked Flora to include everyone at a dinner to introduce you. That probably means it’ll be the holiday.” He meets my gaze, his eyes filled with panic and the smallest amount of hope, like he thinks I’m going to lose my mind over this new development.
I’m not.
“Alright.” I lay my southern drawl on thick as I hold his stare, watching him shift in his seat and waiting for more.
“That’s it?”
“I’m going to have to meet them eventually. Hell, I know almost everyone as it is.” Reaching over, I take his hand in mine, threading our fingers together as I continue, “It’s just bein’ introduced as yours that’s different.”
Raising our joined hands to his lips, he kisses my knuckles, and his breath is hot against my skin. “I have no idea what I did to deserve you.”
“What brought this on, Sweetheart? I’d bet my life savings it wasn’t just because you wanted to mix things up a bit.”
Leaning back in his seat, Tanner lets his head fall back against the wood, his exhale weary as he focuses on something out in the yard. “My mother had emergency surgery today and she wanted my father to call and let me know.”
I do my best to keep my face carefully neutral as dread seeps into my veins. I’m not the smartest man in the world, but there’s no way Tanner would still be here unless…
“When I told him I could be there tonight, he said I shouldn’t come.”
“Tanner, I’m so sorry.” Rage replaces the dread like a tidal wave, my free hand fisting and my knuckles white as I run through all the ways I’d like to tear his father apart.
Moving from my seat, I kneel in front of him, one hand still holding his while the other rests on his thigh.
“What do you need me to do? How can I make this better?” The way I’d move mountains to restore the light in his eyes right now is more than a desire—it’s a need. I’m about to tell him as much when something goes whizzing between us, a small projectile that lands quietly in the grass beside me.
“Goooooo!” someone yells as two people—who I belatedly realize are Otto and Briggs—run in through the side gate and take cover behind the small shed.
“Son of a—” Tanner bites out, jumping up from his seat and racing toward a wicker storage chest, dumping the lid and the cushions onto the pavers before pulling out several foam dart blasters. “I’m sorry about this,” he huffs even though a smile tugs at the corner of his lips.
Two darts are fired in rapid succession as Briggs does a combat roll and hides behind an oversized bush.
More darts are fired as Tanner hands me a couple of blasters and some extra darts and then it’s on. Pure and absolute madness erupts in the fenced-in space.
Briggs giggles and dives back toward the shed when Tanner ambushes him, Tanner’s training obviously kicking in as he lands several shots in Otto’s direction.
I also get hit with darts because I’m so turned on by how sexy Tanner’s competence is in this fight that it takes me a minute to remember what I’m supposed to be doing.
My size doesn’t help me in this game as I try to stay low and run behind the chairs Tanner and I were sitting in when this whole thing started.
Briggs chances it and tries to recover some darts from the lawn as Otto covers him with the few darts he has left while Tanner and I empty and reload as fast as we can.
By the end of it, there’s no clear winners, but we’re all breathless and laughing and collapsed on the grass in a sea of foam darts.
“So Deacon, this is my son, Briggs, who you met, and his bonus dad, Otto, whom you also know,” Tanner starts with a wave of his hand. “Guys, Deacon and I are dating.” He finishes before looking apologetically at me. “Saying you’re my boyfriend sounds weird, and so does partner.”
I snort out a laugh and shake my head. “We’ll work on labeling our relationship to your liking later.”
Briggs grins like a fool at Otto who also wears a wide smile. “I told you it was a good idea.”
Tanner laughs, leaning one hand behind him as he beams at his son. “Of course this was your idea.”
“We had to go to three stores to find enough darts because Big Rigg didn’t want to wait to order some online,” Otto says, ruffling Briggs’s hair.
“I was sick of waiting,” the boy says, his eyes vulnerable as they meet his father’s. “I wanted to meet him.”
Tanner’s mouth opens and then closes as he releases a heavy breath. “I told you that I’d introduce you—”
“But it’s been forever,” he whines. “Didn’t you want to meet me?” he says, turning those wide, innocent eyes on me and dammit, how am I ever going to tell this kid no?
“Technically, I did meet you,” I offer but he huffs and shakes his head.
“That doesn’t count. Mom and Uncle Wren were bein’ weird and you said you were dad’s friend.”
“Still not a lie.” I grin and then chuckle when Briggs rolls his eyes.
“I like this better,” he says, plucking blades of grass from the earth. “Now we can hang out and have guys’ night like when Mom goes to Aunt Hannah’s or something. Oh! And Thanksgiving! You’re comin’, right?” His gaze bounces between the three of us, and Tanner nods.
“We’re working out the details,” he concedes before catching my eye. “I hope you’re ready for all the codependence and chaos this town has to offer.”
“I can’t wait,” I tell him and still, no lies detected.