Page 40 of Tanner

“He already does.”

TJ stepped out of his office. He looked between them and said, “Miles. A minute.”

Miles grabbed the Fernsby pages and followed him into the office. TJ shut the door but didn’t sit right away. He stood by the desk while Miles handed over the paperwork.

TJ read the top page once, then again. “Alright. That’s something.”

Miles stayed standing. “Only on the house side.”

TJ looked up at him. “Yeah.”

Miles waited a minute, then said, “He doesn’t have legal guardianship.”

“I know.” TJ put the paper down and rubbed the back of his neck.

“He’s running into it already. Preschool. Doctor.”

“That fast?”

Miles nodded. “He told me last night.”

TJ put the paper down. “Last night?”

Miles kept his face neutral. “Yeah.”

TJ watched him for a second. “You getting too close to this?”

“No.”

“You sure?”

“I’m doing my job.”

TJ’s expression didn’t change. “That wasn’t my question.”

Miles shrugged. “He talked. I listened. That’s all.”

TJ held his gaze a moment longer, then nodded at the paperwork on the desk. “Make sure it stays clear in your head what this is. Because if this turns into a conflict of interest, I need to know before it becomes one.”

Miles said, “It’s handled.”

TJ didn’t look convinced, but he let it go. “Fine. Then handle it.”

“Point is, it’s already coming up. House being his gives him stability. It doesn’t cover Savannah if somebody starts asking questions.”

TJ leaned back against the edge of the desk and folded his arms. “No, it doesn’t.”

Neither of them spoke for a minute, then Miles said, “It only takes one person.”

TJ nodded. “I know how it goes.”

“Someone sees a young guy with a little kid. Somebody asks where her mother is, where her paperwork is, why she isn’t registered here, why he’s signing for her.” Miles kept his tone even. “Then someone makes a call because they think they’re doing the right thing.”

TJ let out a long breath. “Yeah.”

Miles rubbed a hand over his face. “He’ll run if anyone comes at him.”

“That’s why nobody’s coming at him.”