Oddly, I might be flattered.
“Hey…Deacon, hey,” Tanner says, his voice breathy as he wipes his palms down the front of his slacks. There’s a paw print on the tan fabric, and it makes my lips twitch up into a smile.
“You said that already.”
“Right, yeah, sorry. One of the dogs we got in is really nervous, so we’re trying to figure out a foster placement. Otherwise I’ll have to take him home.”
I frown. “I wish I could take him. My hours have been so unpredictable recently and I can’t really take him to work.”
Tanner smiles and it lights up his whole face. “It’s all right. We’ll find a spot for him.”
“I’m sure you will.” Clearing my throat, I try my best to keep my expression neutral as I nod toward the wall. “You want to tell me what happened?”
He glances over his shoulder at it and then back at me. “Not really.”
“Why not?” I ask, chuckling as he puts his hands on his hips and tilts his head back to look at the ceiling.
“Because it’s embarrassing.”
“Didyouthrow a rolling chair into the wall?”
“How do you know it’s a rolling chair?”
“You can see the wheel indents.”
“Huh,” he muses, but I’m not sure if he’s stalling or actually trying to see what I can. “And no, I didn’t throw it but…” His face heats as he shifts his weight from one foot to the other. “I was trying to give you space with your family, like you wanted, but apparently I waited too long because Sorren decided to help speed things along.”
Definitely flattered.
“Why didn’t you just come see me?”
“Uh, couple of reasons. One being I have no idea where tofindyou and the other is I felt like I’d waited too long and then was overthinking that along with everything else.”
I stare at him, both surprised and elated by the words. They’re sincere, and while I appreciate that, it’s not why I’m here.
“We can talk about this later,” I tell him, a pang in my chest as I watch him visibly deflate. “I’ll take care of the wall today. It shouldn’t be that long.”
“I need to tell you?—”
“Not here,” I tell him firmly. “I don’t want to do this here with you.”
“Can I have your number? Or can I give you mine?” He huffs and runs a hand through his short hair. “Please?”
“Sure.” Grabbing a sticky note from the desk, I scratch my number across the little yellow paper and hand it to him. “Now, let me take care of the wall and then”— I nod toward the paper—“we can see if you have any intention of using that.”
“Can I ask you something?”Arden is curled up in the corner of the sofa as I change Salem’s diaper and then do my best to swaddle her. Unsurprisingly, swaddling a baby is not the same as practicing on a bag of flour.
“Of course.” She covers her mouth with her hand, stifling her yawn, and I want to take back my question. She needs sleep and I have nowhere to be for the next few hours. “Stop looking at me. I’ll go nap after you get whatever it is off your chest.”
“Tanner threw a chair into the wall to get my attention.”
“I’m sorry, what?” she asks, remarkably more awake now.
“I guess technically Sorren threw it, but the purpose was the same. He wanted to get my attention because Tanner didn’t know how to get ahold of me.” Belatedly I add, “Allegedly.”
“Property damage for a date…” she muses. “That’s kind of hot.”
“Is it?” I tease and she nods, resting the side of her head against the back of the couch.
