Page 67 of Tanner

Tanner gave her as little as he could without making himself look worse. Names. Limited details. Enough to show she wasn’t alone with him in the world.

Dana wrote it all down and then she closed the folder. “We’ll be in contact again soon. In the meantime, if there’s any change in living arrangements, childcare, or schooling plans, you need to let us know.”

Tanner stood too. “Right.”

Tanner walked them to the door and Dana paused on the step. “She’s clearly attached to you,” she said quietly. “That matters. But attachment isn’t the only thing we look at.” Then she walked away.

Tanner shut the door and turned the lock harder than he needed to and for a second he just stood there with his hand still on it.

Savannah’s voice came small from behind him. “Are they gone?”

He turned back. “Yeah.”

She was by the sofa and her mouth had gone wobbly in a way that told him tears weren’t far off. Tanner crossed the room, crouched in front of her, and pulled her into him before she could ask the question she was really holding back.

“You okay?” he asked.

She nodded against his shoulder. Tanner knew that wasn’t true, but he didn’t say anything.

“No shouting,” she said after a moment.

“No.”

“Why they here?”

Tanner looked over her head at the wall. “Just asking questions.”

She pulled back enough to look at him. “About me?”

“Yeah.”

Her small fingers twisted into his shirt. “Did I do something bad?”

“No.” The word came out too fast. He gentled his voice and brushed hair back from her face. “No, baby. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

She leaned into him again. “Okay.”

Tanner stayed there on the floor with her longer than he meant to. Long enough for his legs to start aching.

Not today. That was what Dana had said. That should have reassured him, but it sounded like a countdown had started. He closed his eyes briefly and exhaled slowly.

Savannah shifted. “Can I have lunch now?”

Tanner opened his eyes. “Yeah.”

He got to his feet, brought her into the kitchen, and made lunch. Savannah sat at the table swinging her legs, talking about colors and rabbits and something Cody had said. Tanner answered when he had to. The rest of him was still back with Dana Holloway asking what his plan was.

His plan.

As if he hadn’t been living one every day for years.

By late afternoon he had everything back under control. Savannah had eaten. She’d colored. She’d watched a cartoon. Tanner had cleaned the kitchen twice without meaning to and checked the lock on the front door so many times he’d stopped counting.

When the knock came that evening, his whole body went cold. He was at the door before he even knew he’d moved. Miles stood on the step holding a takeout bag in one hand.

Not in uniform. Jeans, dark shirt, hair still damp from a shower, maybe. Just Miles, looking at Tanner carefully the second the door opened.

Tanner stared at him. For one stupid second he’d expected distance after what he’d told him. A few days of nothing while Miles decided what to do with everything Tanner had said.