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Tanner
When Tanner arrived,he’d not expected to be handed the name of Lisa’s grandmother. He’d also not expected to be sitting with Carly at the kitchen table, barefoot and commando in tight sweatpants that would be better suited for a teen boy. But here he was.
“So, I’m thinking my clothes might be dry now.” Tanner didn’t want to wear damp clothing, but he also would rather be damp and back in his own jeans before the others showed up for dinner.
“I’ll check on them.” Carly scooted her chair and slid behind him to go have a look. When she did, her hair grazed the back of his neck, and he caught a whiff of her shampoo. She smelled clean and female. Not a good time for an arousal considering his weird state of dress. He was thankful when she returned and gave him an update. “About ten more minutes.”
Unfortunately, his brother and sister-in-law came bursting into the kitchen right after that. Tanner groaned.
“Dude, what are you wearing? Did the little boy down the street loan you his clothes?” Jake had a good laugh at his expense.
“Leave him alone, brother-in-law. His were soaked from the storm when he got here. I couldn’t let him sit in wet clothes all evening.” Carly stuck up for him, thankfully.
But there was no way to disguise the fact that he wasn’t wearing underwear once his clothes were dry and he’d have to stand up eventually. Jake wouldn’t let him live this down, he was sure of it.
“Jake, can you help me with something out here?” Nana was suddenly elevated to sainthood in his eyes. Tanner had no idea if she pulled Jake outside for a legitimate reason, or if she was sly enough to understand how badly Tanner needed to make a clean getaway the minute Jake crossed the threshold to the sunroom.
“Excuse me, ladies.” He wasn’t nearly as embarrassed to hear Leah and Carly snorting with laughter behind his retreating backside as he would’ve been had Jake caught sight of him. It was rather comical, he realized, but he knew they would have a laugh and let it go.
Once he was back in his own—albeit, warm—clothing, Tanner felt his manhood return. Somewhat. He didn’t put his boots back on, rather stayed in his socks instead. Everyone else had kicked off their shoes at the front door due to the wet weather.
By the time Tanner sat down again at the table, Bob and Karen had entered. “Wow, it’s a real turd floater out there, don’t you know?”
“Don’t I know it, son-in-law. I went out earlier and thought I might need a pirogue to get home.” Nana Elise laughed at Bob’s description of the heavy rain. Karen, on the other hand did not.
“That was rather crude, Bob.” Her face was pinched with distaste.
Everyone else laughed and ignored Karen, who clearly didn’t care to be ignored. She huffed and plopped down on a barstool. “I swear, he just says anything that pops into his head.”
“Momma, it was funny.” Leah leaned close and chided her mother.
“Momma, we need your help. Tanner and I are working on a missing person’s case and learned that you went to school with the woman we’re trying to find.” Carly gave Karen the distraction needed to change her focus.
That snapped Karen back into the spotlight. “Oh, who is it?”
“Her name is Justine Chaffin. Do you remember her?” Carly got high marks for introducing the subject at the right time.
“Why yes, I remember Justine. We were pretty good friends in junior high and into high school. She—well—she was someone I trusted when, you know, I got into trouble.” Karen ducked a little when she said it, like she was uncertain of the subject.
“It’s okay, Momma. You can talk about it. We’re all family here.” Carly tried to encourage Karen. Bob did appear a little uncomfortable, but Nana handed him a longneck beer and that seemed to help a little.
“Well, Justine was there for me when it all happened. But I left town for several months to have your sister, and when I came back, we weren’t as close. I didn’t tell her who the father was, of course. I didn’t tell anyone. In fact, now that I think of it, she’s the only one I ever told about my pregnancy, and I swore her to secrecy.”
“You told Justine about being pregnant?” Nana held her hand over her heart as if she were shocked by Karen’s admission.
“You know, I just remembered it. Things are a little fuzzy from that time. But, yes, Justine knew about the baby. She never said a word to anyone as far as I know.” Karen shook her head. “I can’t believe I told her now that I think back. I didn’t remember trusting anyone with my secret.”
Bob made a coughing sound. Tanner wondered if that was intentional. Because he hadn’t known about Karen’s secret baby. And he was her husband.
Bob’s noise hadn’t slipped by unnoticed by Karen. “Shut it, Bob.”
“So, anything you can tell us about Justine would be helpful. Have you heard from her over the years?” Carly tried to help Karen stay focused.
Karen shook her head. “No. She went to college in New Orleans. I didn’t go off to college. I’d met Bob by then and we were engaged my first year after high school.” She eyeballed her husband then. It was hard to say if it was in a good way.
“Did you ever communicate with Justine while she was in college?” Carly tried again.
