Page 102 of Tanner

Rebecca nodded. “Yes.”

Tanner shoved the paper back a couple of inches. “No.”

Rebecca didn’t snatch the paper or lean forward. “The home assessment is not optional.”

“I said no.”

“Tanner,” Miles said.

“No.” Tanner looked at nobody now. “You come into the house, you start writing things down, then somebody decides what counts and what doesn’t.”

Rebecca spoke before Miles could. “Yes. I write things down. I write down whether she has food, a bed, heat, safe rooms, basic care, and a carer who meets her needs. Those notes are also what support you in court.”

Tanner’s laugh was short and rough. “Support.”

“You can hate the process,” Rebecca said. “But you still need it.”

Savannah stirred at the sound in Tanner’s voice and looked at him. “Tanny?”

He was breathing too fast now, and Miles could see the fear begin to build. Miles shifted in his chair and kept his voice steady. “Look at me.” Tanner didn’t. Miles tried again. “Tanner.” This time Tanner did look at him, and there it was. Fear with nowhere to go except anger. “We’re handling it,” Miles said. Tanner stared at him. “One thing at a time. Today is papers. Later this week is the home visit. You’ve already got power on, food in, and beds for you both. Cody and Orsen can help with anything else that needs doing before then. You are not walking into this alone.”

TJ nodded once beside Tanner. “He’s right.”

Tanner’s face tightened. “You both keep saying that.”

“Because it’s true,” TJ said.

Rebecca pushed the paper back within Tanner’s reach. “The home visit happens whether you sign that page angrily or calmly. The difference is whether you keep control of what comes next.”

Tanner scrubbed a hand over his mouth and looked at Savannah. She looked back at him with sleep-heavy eyes and no idea what anyone was deciding for her.

“Fine,” he said.

Rebecca slid him a pen. Tanner took it and sat there with it in his hand. Miles thought he might still walk. Might push the chair back, pick Savannah up, and head for the door, but Tanner bent and signed the first page. Then the second. Then the third.

When he finished, he dropped it down hard enough to make Savannah jump. Tanner noticed at once and reached for her without thinking. She left Miles and climbed onto his knee. He held her close with one arm and kept staring at the forms as Rebecca gathered them back into her file.

“There,” Rebecca said. “Now we have something to work with.”

Rebecca wrote down two times on a card and slid it across the table. “Case conference, Friday at eleven. Home assessment, tomorrow afternoon at two. I’ll also send the referral for the court application today.”

Tanner finally looked up. “Tomorrow?”

“Yes.”

His jaw clenched again, but this time he didn’t argue.

TJ picked up the card and looked at it. “We’ll be there.”

Rebecca nodded. “Good. Between now and then, I suggest you make sure the house is exactly how you want me to find it. Food in. Medication where it should be. Hazards dealt with. Nothing dramatic. Just ordinary care.”

Savannah tucked her face against Tanner’s chest. He kept one hand on the back of her head and didn’t look away from Rebecca. “She’s already looked after.”

Rebecca met his stare. “Then tomorrow is your chance to show that.”

The meeting ended a couple of minutes later. The papers were gathered, and next step already in motion whether Tanner liked it or not.

Back in the hall, Tanner stopped so suddenly TJ nearly walked into him. Savannah was limp against his shoulder now.