And Tanner heard the words, but they didn’t change a damned thing from his perspective. He turned the words over and over in his mind but didn’t—couldn’t—see things from Lance’s point of view. He looked away as he tried to come to grips with Lance’s claims that he should be held blameless for everything that had happened. He just couldn’t bring himself to agree.
“Listen, man, I know you’re mad, but he didn’t mean it—” Tanner was jerked back to the present hearing Lance’s comment directed towards someone nearby. The father of the little girl was approaching them wearing an unreadable expression.
“Seriously I think it would be better if—” Lance was trying to intercede and protect him, just like he always did. But Tanner wanted the man to come at him, to bring it. He wanted to be yelled at, berated, pummeled into the ground for what he’d done.
But the man didn’t do any of those things. Instead, he extended his hand to Tanner and said, “Thank you.”
Tanner stared at him in amazement. Automatically, he reached out to shake hands with him but was completely befuddled.
“I don’t—” Tanner couldn’t even begin to understand why this man was being so kind to him, after what he’d just done.
The man smiled sympathetically. “You were just trying to protect her.” He spoke as if it should be obvious to everyone exactly what Tanner had been trying to do for his daughter. “I can’t imagine what it must be like—” he swallowed audibly, struggling to continue. “But the fact that you’d protect her even when—” he stopped to take a deep breath. “I lost my best friend last year. Five tours in the Middle East and he took his own life two months after being discharged.” He shook his head, tears in his eyes as he said, “Thank you.” With a grateful smile, he turned and left, leaving Tanner feeling stunned. What in the actual hell? Had he lost his fucking mind? Or had he just been thanked for losing his goddamned mind and holding a child hostage? This was way more than he could handle right then. He needed to get the hell out of there.
“I want to go home. Can we go home? Please?” Tanner fought for clarity and to stay grounded. There were so many thoughts swirling around in his mind. Like a bumper carconvention of conflicting thoughts and confusing flashbacks. He couldn’t see clearly. His senses felt dull and numb. Like he wasn’t quiteinhis body anymore, and it was as scary as it was confusing.
“Of course,” Lance replied, his smile soft and a little sad, knowing that some serious emotional fallout was inevitable.
*****
They’d almost made a successful getaway. Almost, but not quite.
The paramedics had released Tanner, so Lance was in the process of guiding him back to his car. But as they approached Lance’s BMW, they found Harriette leaning against the hood with her arms crossed.
“Mom?” Lance wondered why she would leave the party and lie in wait for him.
She frowned angrily at them. He took a step closer to Tanner, feeling an instinctive urge to protect him.
“Were you going to tell me?” she asked in a low vicious tone. She was royally pissed.
“I did,” he stated calmly, assuming this was about Tanner’s military background. “When Tanner and I moved Parker back in. I told you he was an Army veteran. Hell, I even called to make sure there wouldn’t be any fireworks—”
“That’snotwhat I’m talking about,” she hissed, interrupting him, as she looked around to see if anyone was nearby. But everyone had gone home, and the neighbourhood was quiet.
“Mom, I don’t know what this is about, but I really have to get us home.”
Tanner was standing next to him looking pale, exhausted, and on the verge of collapsing right there in the driveway. Yep, time to hit the road.
“Home? What? So, he lives with you now? You mean to tell me this is actuallyserious?” Her last question ended with a shriek of rage. He saw Parker walking towards them, but he refused to let that distract him. He had to settle this argument with her, the sooner the better, especially for Tanner’s sake.
“Mom—” he said, holding up a hand to try to halt her diatribe. It didn’t work. She was livid and far from done. Unfortunately.
She started screaming, making no attempt to lower her voice. “You brought him here! You caused all this! And the neighbours—oh God, Lance! What if the neighbours saw you? You—God, you called himthatin front of all those people! What will the neighbours say, Lance? Did you think about that? About what it might do to me? To your brothers?” Lance could barely comprehend what he was hearing. Her rage-filled panic was over the top. He should have tried to calm her down, but he was too shocked by her ugly accusations to come up with anything.
Practically foaming at the mouth, she just kept at him. “I just can’t believe you’d do this to me. It’s disgusting! I can’t believe it! After everything—everythingI’ve done for you boys, you—you would throw this in my face in front of all the people we know!”
Lance took a big step back, like he’d been slapped across the face. He suspected that it wouldn’t be easy for her to understand his relationship with Tanner, but he never expected her to have a nuclear meltdown. He had no clue how to fix a situation of this magnitude.
“Mom, what the hell are you talking about?” Parker asked, as he came up to them. He looked back and forth between them in confusion.
“Tell him!” she commanded through gritted teeth, angrily jerking her head in Parker’s direction. “Go on! Tell your brother what you’ve done!”
Done. Like he’d committed a murder or burned down their house. Done. Like he hadn’t just—fallen in love.
“Tell me what?” Parker looked anxiously at Lance.
“Tanner and I—” Suddenly a sense of calm descended over him. No shame, no doubt. Just a clarity of vision and complete confidence now. “We’re together. We’re in a committed relationship.”
Everyone took a deep breath. His was one of relief at having finally made the big announcement to her and Parker. His mother’s deep breath was one of shock and disgust. Parker’s was one of surprise and confusion.
