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Miles leaned against the table and took a drink from his beer. “Looks busy.”

“Messy but functional,” TJ said.

“That your new life motto?”

“It’s my relationship motto.”

Miles shook his head and looked around the yard. Orsen sat on one of the patio chairs with a bottle of water. Santino sat beside him, listening while Orsen talked.

Movement at the gate caught Miles’ attention.

Tanner stood just inside it with Savannah on one hip. He wore jeans and a faded T-shirt, nothing special, but Miles noticed him all the same. Savannah had both arms around Tanner’s neck, her face buried against his shoulder for a second before she lifted her head to look around. Tanner stayed where he was, taking in the people and the yard before he adjusted Savannah higher and stepped forward.

TJ wiped his hands on a towel and went over first. He smiled at Savannah, said something that made her lift her head, then clapped Tanner lightly on the shoulder and pointed toward the drinks table. Tanner answered and came farther in.

“That’s new,” Miles said.

Cody flipped a burger. “What is?”

“He came.”

Cody glanced at him. “Told you food would do most of the work.”

“That’s your sales pitch for everything.”

“It’s a good one.”

Savannah slid down from Tanner’s hip a minute later and stayed tucked against his leg while Arthur wandered over, holding out a plastic dinosaur. The two of them stared at each other for a second, then Savannah took it. Tanner watched the exchange with tense shoulders, but when nothing bad happened he let her take a couple of steps away and begin playing.

Miles took another drink and kept his mouth shut.

Carter came over with a paper plate in one hand. “You standing there all evening or you planning to help with something?”

“I offered.”

“No, you didn’t,” Cody corrected.

“I considered offering.” Miles shrugged.

“That’s not the same thing.”

Carter smirked and held his plate out toward the grill. Cody dropped a burger onto it, and the three of them stood talking for a few minutes.

They settled into the afternoon after that. Food came off the grill and the kids got louder. Cody moved easily between the others, talking to TJ one minute, Toni and Carter the next, then calling something over to Orsen and Santino.

Miles helped where he was needed, carried drinks out, and cut up food for Christian when Toni had her hands full with Macy. Every now and then his attention slid back to Tanner without him meaning to.

Tanner stayed near the edge of the group more than in the middle of it. He listened more than he spoke. Savannah stayed near him until Cassie dragged her off to inspect a bucket of sidewalk chalk. Tanner let that happen, but not before checking where they were going and who else was over there.

Miles recognized it because he’d seen it before in people who had spent too long waiting for things to go wrong. Tanner never quite settled.

At one point Cody dropped into the chair beside Miles and held out a plate piled with salad he clearly had no intention of eating.

“You’re staring.”

“I’m sitting in a yard.”

“You can do both.”