“No, no family.Just me.”
He tilted his head to the side, eyes narrowing.“And the babies.”
“Of course.”Damn it.She was so used to thinking of herself as alone.“Christian and Beth.”
“And their father?He’s family, too, in a way.He around anywhere?”
She stuffed more food in her mouth.“He’s not in the picture.”
She didn’t know if the twins’ father was friend or foe.There were so many things she needed to ask Melissa.Every day she waited for that phone to ring, but it never did.
He let her finish eating without any more questions, but she didn’t deceive herself into thinking he was done.She immediately unwrapped the pie when she finished her sandwich.Partially to hold off more questions, but she hadn’t been lying when she said it was her favorite.
“It looks like Cheryl put two slices in here.Do you want one?”
He nodded and sat down with her at the table.She got him a fork, and they both began to eat.She was only on her third bite when she looked over and found him finishing his.
“That’s good pie,” he said, shoveling the last bite into his mouth.
Bree watched with wide eyes, scooting her plate closer to her protectively.“You’re not one for savoring, are you?”
He leaned back in his chair and smiled.
Good God, that smile was lethal.
She sat frozen as he reached across the table and wiped a little piece of pie that had gotten caught on the corner of her mouth.
He brought the crumb up to his lips and licked it off.“Oh, I’m definitely for savoring when the time is right.For savoring every little bit as long as possible.”
She had the distinct feeling they weren’t talking about pie anymore.
But then he straightened in his chair, breaking the spell.“But when it comes to one of the Sunrise lemon pies, I had two siblings and a mother and father all vying for as much of one pie as possible every Saturday evening when I was growing up.Whoever finished first generally got to eat whatever bits had been left in the tray.I learned how to eat my slice in three bites when it counted.”
She put another bite in her mouth and chewed slowly.Except for the meals she’d eaten at the Sunrise Diner over the last week, she’d never really eaten with anyone else.Even her mother hadn’t been interested in family meals at the table.She’d been too paranoid.
“Wow.”She took another bite quickly, not completely sure he wouldn’t try to make a grab for hers.“I guess you can buy your own pie now.”
“Yeah, but sometimes my brother, sister and I still take a turn at it when we’re together for a meal.My mom gets in on the action, too.”
She could almost imagine it.A table full of grown people eating the delicious dessert as fast as they could to fight for leftovers.
It seemed...nice.
“Did your dad wise up?Does he stay out of the fray now?”
She peeked over at Tanner just in time to see the smile completely fade from his face.“No.My dad’s dead.”
She threw her gaze down to her pie again.“Oh.I’m sorry for your loss.”
Mentioning his dad had completely broken the mood.Tanner stiffened in his chair.“What kind of trouble are you in, Bree?”
“What makes you think I’m in any trouble at all?”
“You’ve gottroubleall but tattooed on your forehead.It was one thing when you were just passing through.But now you’ve stuck around, so whatever trouble you’re in becomes my problem, too.I don’t want to see the Andrewses get hurt.”
“I’m not going to hurt them.I’m not going to hurt anyone.”She just needed to stay under the radar.
He ran his fingers through that thick dark hair.“The babies’ dad...Did he hurt you, maybe?I can help if that’s the case.”
