Page 113 of Tanner

Tanner let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. The humiliation he’d braced for never came.

Savannah crunched another cracker loudly and said, “Apple.”

Miles stepped back to hand her a slice. “There.”

Tanner laughed then, a real one this time, and watched Savannah eat it.

The rest of the evening carried on. Tanner made Savannah’s dinner while Miles packed the folder again for the morning. Tanner gave Savannah her bath and dressed her in her pajamas. Once she was settled in her bed, he stayed with her until she drifted off.

When Tanner came back downstairs, Miles was waiting in the living room. “You should sleep,” Miles said.

“Probably.”

Tanner stayed standing for a second, then crossed the room and sat beside him on the sofa. Not touching at first until Miles put a hand on the back of his neck and Tanner let himself lean in.

Neither of them said anything more about what had come out in the kitchen. There wasn’t any need. It was there now.

Tomorrow they would walk into another room and let the system do what it did. Tanner still didn’t trust that. He probably wouldn’t when the morning came either. But Savannah was asleep upstairs. The folder was ready by the door. Miles’ hand stayed warm and steady against the back of his neck and that was enough to get him through the night.

Chapter Thirty-One

The courthouse annex was smaller than the main county building. Savannah sat between them on the bench with her rabbit in her lap and a packet of raisins in one hand. Tanner had dressed her in clean leggings, a yellow sweater, and the shoes she fought least about wearing. He’d also packed a bag that could have covered a weekend away instead of a morning in a government building. Miles hadn’t said a word about that. Let the man bring half the house if it helped.

TJ came through security a minute later with a folder under one arm and nodded at them as he crossed the room. He was in plain clothes again, but there was no hiding the fact that he belonged in places like this. Mrs. Hemsworth arrived not long after in her navy coat with the same envelope-sized handbag she always carried and the same expression that suggested the building itself might be beneath her standards.

Cody and Orsen came together and sat with them. Tanner looked from one face to the next and didn’t say much.

“You alright?” Cody asked him, low enough not to carry.

“No,” Tanner said.

Cody nodded. “I get that.”

A clerk came out just after ten-thirty and called Tanner’s name, and they were taken into a conference room rather than a courtroom.

Rebecca Palmer was already there with a man in a suit Tanner had met only once on a call earlier in the week. Family law. County-appointed for the filing stage, at least until the longer-term order was sorted. There was also another woman from the court admin side.

Miles took the seat beside Tanner with TJ sitting across from them. Mrs. Hemsworth took the chair at the far end while Cody and Orsen stayed near the side until asked to sit.

Rebecca opened the meeting without wasting time. “This is a case conference regarding interim kinship placement for Savannah Fernsby pending temporary guardianship review. We’re here to confirm current care, immediate safeguarding, and the recommendation being put before the court officer today.”

Tanner’s fingers tightened once on the folder in front of him. Miles saw it, but kept his own hands flat on the table.

Rebecca went through the basics first. Home assessment completed. Child observed in the home with adequate food, appropriate sleeping arrangements, clothing, and age-appropriate items. Medical registration completed. Preschool contact underway with documentation submitted. No immediate safeguarding concerns identified within the home environment.

Tanner blinked once at that last part, as if he hadn’t let himself believe she might actually say it out loud.

The lawyer asked him a short list of direct questions. Name. Age. Relationship to Savannah. Length of current care. Employment position. Support network. Tanner answered every one, voice tight but steady. The support network question nearly caught him because his eyes flicked around the room as if he still wasn’t sure what counted.

Rebecca answered part of that for him. “Mr. Fernsby is not functioning in isolation. Sheriff Redding has assisted with procedural access and referrals. Mr. Owens is present as daily support. There are additional local adults willing to provide practical and character references.”

The court admin woman made a note and then TJ was asked to speak. He kept it clear and professional.

“I know Tanner through the town and through recent contact connected to this process. My role here is not personal preference. It’s credibility. He engaged when asked. He attended every meeting. He provided documents. He followed through on medical registration and home requirements within the timeline given. From a procedural standpoint, he has done what he was told needed doing, and he has done it fast.”

That mattered. Miles could tell by the way the lawyer nodded and the admin woman stopped writing just long enough to actually look at Tanner before starting again.

Mrs. Hemsworth was next. “I supervised transport routes in this town for years,” she said. “I have known Tanner since he was little.” Her eyes went to the woman from court admin, then Rebecca, then the lawyer in turn. “He raised her. That is the plain version. He made sure she was fed, clean, collected, comforted, and where she needed to be long before anyone in this room put a label on it. If your concern is whether he understands responsibility, you’re late to the answer.”