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“I expect your parents in about an hour, and maybe Leah and Jake. I hope that won’t put a damper on your work with Tanner. Feel free to use the den should you require quiet.”
I figured the rest of the family would show up at some point, but since the rest of the family included Tanner’s brother, it wouldn’t be uncomfortable. “No, that won’t be a problem.”
Nana’s house had enough rooms that there was space for a private discussion should one be required.
“So, what did you find in the attic?” Nana peered over her glasses to see what I was doing.
“A bunch of old photos. They look like some of yours, and maybe of Momma’s when she was young.” There were some degraded envelopes from the drug store with actual negatives and black-and-white photos, but most were old color photos, the kind that were thick but faded with time. Most had writing on the backs of them. I hadn’t taken time yet to look at any of them. I was sorting them by time stamp. Basically, by decade.
“I love looking back at old photos. I’m sure your momma would love to go through those with you.”
“Yes, a lot of these were from when she was growing up. When she was in school and as a little girl.”
“Look in the drawer behind you, Carly. There’s a magnifying glass. So many of the old pictures are blurry and hard to see clearly.” Nana pointed to the old piece of furniture against the wall.
“Oh, good idea.” She was right. I noticed how hard it was to see faces in the photos.
I gently transferred Beau to the chair beside me, but he continued to purr, so no harm done. There was a knock on the door as I stood to grab the magnifying glass.
“I’ll get it.” As I suspected, it was Tanner.
And he was soaked. Hair, jacket, jeans. “Goodness, boss. Did you stop and take a swim in the bayou on the way?”
He wasn’t amused, based on his expression.
“Let me get you a couple towels.” I ran upstairs and grabbed towels and some of my giant sweatpants and an oversized double-X T-shirt. Stuff I still had from an old boyfriend. I rarely wore either item but hated to get rid of them.
“Here, put these on and I’ll throw your clothes in the dryer.” I handed the items to Tanner, who eyed them with doubt.
“Oh, just do it. Nobody here cares. Your stuff will be dry in thirty minutes.” Had that sounded bossy?
He toweled his hair and pulled off his boots. I forgot how tall Tanner was, as he towered over me. I was barefooted. We usually sat together while we worked, so I guess I hadn’t thought about it much. For some reason, I thought about it now.
“The bathroom’s there.” I pointed.
I stood outside the door while he stripped and handed me his wet shirt, socks, and jeans. That felt kind of—intimate. And I was again thrown back to wanting to sniff his shirt when he handed it to me. “Um, are you soaked through to your skivvies? You can give those to me too.” I’m sure my face was an unbecoming shade of red, but I was a grown woman, and it would be stupid not to ask.
“Uh—yeah. They’re wet too.”
“Give ’em up.”
I was rewarded with a very warm and very damp pair of boxer briefs. I wanted to hold them with two fingers and run super fast to the washing machine. Like a middle school girl with a crush might. Oh, yeah.
I had all the wet things in my hands and controlled my urge to run to the laundry room. It was so stupid. They were wet clothes, not a bomb. I threw everything in the dryer and set the timer for forty-five minutes to be sure.
When I returned, I tried, really, not to laugh.
The pants were six inches too short. And they were—snug. As in,wow. I tried not to stare. The T-shirt was also snug, but holy moly, did it do him justice. How much working out did a man have to do to look like that in a well-fitting Tulane tee?
“Not a word or you’re fired.”
I might have snorted a tiny bit after I turned my back.
“Smells amazing in here.” The subject change was a welcome one.
“Nana’s chili never disappoints.”
We entered the kitchen as Nana pulled a tray of corn bread from the oven. “Tanner, if you’re hungry, y’all can serve a bowl. The others will be here in a little while.”
