“Winnie was up before me. We laid in bed for a while, then she asked if I would ever have another baby.” I can feel my cheeks blush as I skirt around her comments about him. “Then we got to the Y. The lady was so nice and introduced us to her daughter, Poppy. And she and Winnie ran off holding hands. She didn’t even pout, let alone cry. I know she’s ready, she has been. She’s been going to preschool, but that was part-time and we always had summers, you know? And when she started preschool, she hated it and I felt like she still needed me. This? She was so ready to leave me.”
Tanner reaches for the fork and goes for the pie. “You know, when I was younger, when it was just my mom and me, she used to drop me off at the Y. The same one. There were days I would see her parked across the street. Just watching.”
“Just you and your mom?” I ask, knowing full well his father is the mayor of Green Branch and from what I’ve heard, his parents are very much still together.
“It’s a long story. But my mom and I were joined at the hip for a while. And honestly, being gone from her during the day just made me happier to come home to her at night. I had Mrs. Maryanne. She was really good at keeping me occupied during the day.”
“Maryanne is Winnie’s teacher too,” I point out and there a little boy-like gleam in his eyes.
His phone rings in his pocket and he pulls it out, then shoves it right back in.
“You can answer it.”
He shakes his head. “It’s just Taylor. Probably just wondering where I am.”
“Are you supposed to be at work right now?”
“I'm not supposed to be anywhere but right here.” He tops off my coffee. “I'm sorry this morning was rough for you. But I have a feeling that kid is going to be running the place by the time you pick her back up later.”
“I hope so.”
His phone buzzes again.
“You should go.” I try to tell him, but he shakes his head and shrugs casually.
“Nope. Tell me other things about your day so far. What else?”
“Well, I left, and I cried, then this guy started knocking on my window and scared the shit out of me.”
His laugh is low and steady, and I want nothing more than to keep hearing it.
“Sorry.” His cheeks pink. “I don’t usually interrupt crying women in their car, and I wasn’t sure of the proper protocol.”
“Well, I’ve cried a lot in my car the past couple years.” I intend it as a joke, but it doesn’t sound very funny out loud.
Tanner's head tilts and then I wave my hands. “I'm good. I promise. I just don’t like Winnie seeing me cry. The car is usually a safe spot to cry.”
His phone again.
“Answer it at least,” I insist and he begrudgingly pulls it out and answers.
“What’s up?” he asks. “No, I’ll get to the shop soon. A family emergency came up. Everything is good. Yup, I promiseeverything’s good. I’m not dead. My car is fine. Yup. Thanks for worrying.”
“You better be careful,” I tell him when he hangs up. “You throw around the dead grandma card too much, people will catch on that you had seven grandmas die.”
“I don’t have any grandmas left. But you crying in your car is a family emergency. If you forgot, we are about to be distantly family. My sister and your sister are about to be sisters-in-law.”
“Finding your family attractive makes this a little weird then,” I say, and instantly wish I could reel the words back in.
Tanner leans back in the booth, that grin returning. “Attractive. Huh?”
“You need to get to work,” I snap and dig in my purse for a few dollars to cover the bill and hide my blushing cheeks.
“Put your money away,” he insists. “Please.”
Something in his voice compels me to listen, so, I shove the money back in. He drops a hundred on the table, stands and gives me his hand.
I look at it, then back up to those eyes before taking it. We wave to Mayben and head back out toward my van, hand in hand. My stomach flips as he reaches around me to open the door for me.
