He leaned away and turned to face me, blocking my view of the food as he curved around my body. "I don't need anything. I'm curious as to what's going on here."
I didn't say anything, mostly because "what's going on here" could mean a number of things. Did he want to know why Tanner was here? Or maybe he was curious as to why I was making a plate for Tanner. It could be the coffee that he saw me make, because I wasn't a heavy coffee drinker, and by this time of day I'd already had my half cup. I was never a two-cup-a-day person.
Beau grumbled, then leaned back and tilted his hip against the counter as if settling in for a show. I went back to work, covering the plate with eggs and biscuits with a side of gravy in a separate container since Tanner wasn't a fan of sauces covering his food.
Yet another observance I'd had through months of watching him.
"It's really interesting is all," Beau said. "You’re making food for Tanner, and Tanner is here, and you just came from upstairs, and?—"
Before he could finish, the sound of feet barreling down the stairs reached us.
A lean body tumbled forward. Ashley reached forward in time to catch him. "Whoa there!"
Tanner straightened himself up, then blushed as he looked around to see everyone there, all eyes on him. Meanwhile, I was frozen in place.
The clothes I'd given him made it look like I had branded him in some way. The fabric hung off him loosely, and you could barely tell his shape, but my God, I wanted him to look that way every single morning for the rest of my days.
He was beautiful.
The reality of that thought hit me like a physical blow. I had to shake my head to clear it, but it stopped the moment Tanner's eyes met mine. He smiled softly, then shuffled over.
People went back to what they were doing, though I could tell everyone wanted to speak with him.
When he was close, Beau leaped from me to him and wrapped Tanner in a hug. "What are you doing here, lawyer man? I'm so glad to see you. It's like Christmas came early!"
He leaned back, hands on Tanner's shoulders, and shook him playfully. Tanner flew around, not realizing what Beau was going to do.
It took everything in me not to drop the plate and stop him. To not pull Tanner away from the rough handling.
Thankfully, Jackson was close enough. He looped a hand around Beau from behind and tugged his boy away. "Easy. It doesn't look like Tanner got much rest." He paused, eyes flicking to Tanner's outfit. "He also didn't manage to pack clothes in his size?”
The last part was an obvious question, to which Tanner didn't answer but looked at me instead. The eyes in the room went my way.
I sighed, then decided to rip the Band-Aid off. "I was awake last night when Tanner came in," I told them all. "Since I knew he didn't have a bag with him, I loaned him some of my clothes till he could get something more appropriately sized. You guys are making a big deal out of nothing."
It seemed to assuage most of them, though from Beau’s expression and the look Sean and Atticus gave me, I could tell not everyone thought it was a simple act of kindness.
I picked up the plate and coffee and walked past Tanner. "Follow me," I said as I tilted my head toward the long table where some of the men were already sitting to eat.
I eased the plate and the coffee down, then pulled out the chair.
"I need to make mine," Tanner said.
"No, you don't," I told him as I pointed to the items I'd placed down. "This is yours. I'll go make mine."
He blinked, and it was that same blank expression that told me he didn't understand what was going on. Questions had to be going through his mind, and if I could have answered them, I would have.
But there wasn’t a chance.
I didn't know what to tell him. Didn't know what I could possibly do to explain it without having a lengthy conversation.
So instead, I pointed to the chair again and said in a firm tone, "Sit and eat, Tanner. You're going to need it for your energy levels today. No one wants a hangry person around."
I said the last part as if teasing him, but there was an undercurrent of seriousness beneath it—a need to see him fed and cared for.
He smiled, the edges of his lips tipping up, but it was enough. He eased into the seat, and I pushed it forward, then went back to the counter to make my own plate.
Harlan came up beside me as I did and reached into the cabinet. He pulled out a foil-wrapped item and pushed it to my chest. "I figured this would happen. Made you a breakfast sandwich earlier and hid it. Go ahead and sit by your boy."
