Tanner didn’t want to reveal the truth about his lack of friends. There were no friends. None. It was a quick, made-up excuse that he’d used to get out of sleeping at her house. He hadn’t spoken to any of his old friends since he’d been back. Anyone he did know probably thought he was still dead. But he couldn’t tell her that. First, because she’d know he’d been lying to her all along, and second, because he hated to let her down.
“I guess I could call a guy I know who might be free to help out,” he said, glancing at the desk he’d bought from Lance. Had it only been six days since they met? Could he reasonably expect Lance to want to spend all day hanging out with him at an amusement park and chasing after Cam’s two kids? He sighed inwardly, wondering how much groveling he’d have to do to get Lance to go with him. But in the end, all that really mattered was making his sister happy.
“Thank you! Thank you! I owe you big time!”
“What are came-back-from-the-dead brothers good for anyway? I’ll try to be there by 10:30.”
Cameron squealed with delight just as they disconnected.
Tanner thought about texting Lance, but he didn’t think that was the best way to go about asking for a favor this big. He’d never been a fan of texting, and after being gone for three years, his new smartphone was like an alien lifeform. He wouldn’t know how to interpret Lance’s answer if he dealt with this by text. It seemed much easier to call him.
Lance picked up on the third ring.
“Yellow, Tanner!”
“Hey,” he replied, and then struggled to think of what to say next. Calling Lance out of the blue to ask for help babysittingtwo kids all day while they zoomed around an amusement park was damned awkward.
“I think you’re supposed to say Green—” Lance instructed him with a chuckle.
“Maybe—but since I’m not 89 years old—” he shot back without thinking about it.
Lance’s snort was amused.
“Now, see, that’s just mean! Guy sleeps on your couch twice, and he thinks he can take a dig at your age,” Lance mumbled disconsolately.
“Sorry, I should have known the elderly were sensitive.”
“Were you just calling to make fun of little old me? Or is there something I can help you with on this fine, sunny Saturday?” he asked, jovial as usual. He was such an easy-going, generous person. Tanner was pretty sure he could have asked Lance to donate a kidney, and he’d have answered, “Sure, which one?”
“Actually, I need to ask a huge favor. My lovely sister just asked me to babysit her kids for the day. We have tickets for the waterpark and zoo. But, as you know, I’m basically as agile as a hippo on skates—so—”
“You need someone to run after them if they escape,” Lance surmised, laughing like he could picture it perfectly.
“Exactly!” Tanner was insanely relieved to know that Lance understood his dilemma. “I know it’s not the greatest Saturday plan ever, but dinner and beer are included, along with my eternal gratitude.”
“You had me at hippo on skates—lovely image right there! What time?”
Tanner glanced at the clock. It was only 9:45. He could swing by and pick him up on the way to Cam’s house.
“Would 10:15 work?”
“Sold!”
“Oh—and don’t forget there’s a waterpark, too.”
“Damn, and I was just thinking about how much I wanted to go hang out in a pissed-filled pool packed with screaming kids whacking me in the head with rubber toys!”
Tanner busted out laughing and when he got his breath back, he replied, “Guess you’ll be living the dream, then! See you in a few.”
The flicker of nervous excitement Tanner felt made no sense as he got ready to leave the house. The closest he’d ever come to this feeling was in his early teens, preparing for his first real date. Hell, he even spent time in front of the bathroom mirror to check his appearance. His hair had grown too long. He’d always kept it really short, but then he’d been stuck in a hole for several years, and it had grown past his shoulders. They’d had to cut a few inches of it in the hospital to get rid of knots and tangles, but he’d refused their offer to shave it off completely. He wasn’t military anymore. Getting a crewcut didn’t sit right with him if he couldn’t fulfill the role that went along with it. So—he had a shaggy mess of brown not-quite-curls that he could never figure out how to wrangle. Usually, he didn’t really give a fuck, but today—. Tanner chuckled to himself as he fussed with his hair in the mirror. What in the ever-loving hell had gotten into him? Giving up, he grabbed his keys and limped his way to his truck. He chalked up his bizarre behavior to finally getting a full night’s rest combined with the anticipation of a day of fun in the sun. If he only half believed it, no one had to know.
Tanner pulled up in Lance’s driveway at 10:10 and saw him walk out his front door wearing a pair of navy board shorts and a bright red t-shirt. He looked relaxed and handsome. His Badgers cap was turned backwards and his sunglasses hung from the collar of his shirt. He waved and stopped to pick up a backpack and some type of scooter leaning against his frontporch steps. To Tanner’s surprise, he then carried it over to the truck and placed it gently on its side in the truck bed.
“What the hell is that?”
“It’s a knee scooter,” Lance explained as he climbed into the passenger seat. He was wearing the kind of toothpaste ad smile that indicates you’re about to get conned into doing something that you might not like.
“What’s it for?” Tanner asked with a pointed stare.
