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“Lisa, how about I grab your things from the car now that the rain has let up and you can get settled.” Tanner suggested and Lisa handed over her keys and followed him outside.
“Do you think one of us should invite her to our house to stay while we figure this out?” Imogene asked me.
“I’m living at Nana’s, and Tanner lives in his Airstream, so that’s not an option. Of course, we wouldn’t impose on you and your husband.” It was a little awkward, I had to admit. Lisa was a client, and we really didn’t know her very well.
“Well, I certainly have room for a guest. Maybe we can try this and see how it works. I guess it seems like a logical solution for the time being. I’ll go with her to the store tomorrow and we can make sure she has anything she needs. It’s probably best to travel in pairs out in public, don’t you think?” Imogene’s suggestion had merit.
“I think that’s a great idea, Imogene. It’s not a bad idea to stay together in public for support.”
“Tanner can monitor the security system here from his phone, right?” Imogene bit her lip, as if she were still worried about Lisa’s safety.
“Yes. He can, and there are the patrol cars as well, so she should be safe here.” Lisa would likely be safer than any of us. In fact, I was concerned with Tanner’s being a sitting duck out there in that trailer on the bayou. If anyone meant harm, he would be the most vulnerable.
Tanner and Lisa returned with a small suitcase, a tote bag, and some clothes in a zipped hanging bag. All matching. I would call that goals in my world.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Tanner
After Imogene hadgone home for the day and Lisa was settled in the tiny apartment upstairs, Tanner and Carly exited together and walked toward their vehicles. It had been a long, emotional day. “You wanna grab a beer?” Tanner wasn’t sure why he’d suggested it, but he wasn’t quite ready to be alone. Or maybe he wasn’t quite ready to leave Carly.
“Oh, uh, sure. Do you think we’re being watched or followed?” They both looked around. The back parking area was practically empty besides Tanner’s truck and Carly’s car. There were a couple catering vans that were obviously empty.
“I don’t see anybody. Do you?”
She shook her head. “Nope.”
“We could sit on the dock at my place. I’ve got beer.” Tanner decided that might be better than going out in public.
“Works for me. I’ll meet you there.” She pressed the button on her key fob and unlocked the door to her car.
It didn’t occur to him until he climbed into his truck that she might think anything weird about his inviting her home with him. Weird, as in out of the bounds of their professional co-worker friendship. They’d developed an easy camaraderie and he quite simply enjoyed her company. And they’d known each other most of their lives, so he let that go.
She followed him to the family property. He noticed Jake’s truck parked on the lot where he and Leah were starting to build their house. Might as well invite Jake to join them. He stopped, and Carly stopped right behind him.
The slab had been poured for the footprint of the house. The framing was supposed to begin in a day or two. Tanner figured the rain had delayed things, as rain always did. Louisiana homes rarely had basements, as most of the land here was at, or sometimes below, sea level. One didn’t have to dig far to hit water. Often homes were built on stilts to allow for flooding. Fortunately, this property was on slightly higher ground, being that it was on the bank of the bayou.
North Louisiana was hillier than south, and they were almost right in the middle, so there were some hills, but not many.
“Hey you two. What’s happening?’ Jake was still in a pair of scrubs from the hospital.
“We’re gonna sit on the dock and have a beer. Wanna join us?” Tanner asked his brother.
“Sounds like heaven. Leah’s meeting me here any minute. We’re checking out the progress on the place. Not much of it today, as you can see.” He motioned toward the bare slab.
“This rain. Every day. I guess it’s no surprise, huh? Like every other year here in Louisiana.” Tanner shrugged. “I imagine that’s how folks in Seattle feel most of the year.”
“Let’s head to your trailer and grab those brews. I’m done here,” Jake said. “I’ll text Leah and tell her to meet us there.”
Tanner was certain he had at least a cold six-pack of amber ale to share with his guests. He’d determined it was something he and Carly shared—a love of the same beer. That made him smile.
“What are you grinning about?” Leave it to Jake to catch him with a stupid grin on his face that he didn’t care to explain.
“I was thinking that I was glad I had enough of the right kind of beer to share.” Partly true. Enough true that his brother wouldn’t question it further. Jake knew him so well and could tell if he was lying.
“Good thing since you invited us over.” Jake punched him in the arm just hard enough for it to require a little return shove.
“All right, you two, I’m thirsty. I say we don’t wait on my sister.” Carly had grown up with the two of them doing the push-and-shove guy thing. Girls used words. Guys were physical. Tanner chose physical any day. That cerebral warfare between women was fearsome.
