Page 105 of Let Me Be the One

“I doubt it. Lately, she seems to be on a crusade to do everything, all at once, all by herself.”

That didn’t sound good. As Tanner gathered up his last bite of food, he remembered how shaken Callie had been in the storm. Thankfully, the foreseeable forecast had only the usual spring rains. “What do you mean?”

Addie nodded to his plate. “Seconds?”

“No, I’m full.” She’d already given him double portions, but then Addie had often showed her love through food. He understood. Just as he’d been ill-equipped to understand a mother-figure, she’d had little experience caring for a kid. “Thank you. It hit the spot.”

They both stood at the same time.

“I’ll clean up.” Insistent, Tanner grabbed the plate before Addie could get hold of it. For once, she didn’t debate it with him. Instead, she went to the refrigerator and lifted a magnet to free a check she’d put there.

“I want to show you something.”

“What is it?” He scraped his plate and then put his dishes in the dishwasher

“A payment from Callie.”

A payment!“For what?”

Instead of answering, she waved the check at him.

Forcing himself to be casual, Tanner rinsed and dried his hands before taking it from her.

Confusion hit him first, then anger. “What the hell?” Callie had written a hefty sum, made out to Addie, with a note for “horse upkeep.”

“My reaction, too,” Addie said. “Kam just laughed.”

“He would.” His brother found Tanner’s current predicament hilarious. Every damn day, he egged him on, telling Tanner to man up and go see her. But damn it, he knew her parents wanted her back with Sutter, and he knew Sutter had visited her.

Liam, apparently, was aligned with Kam to force him to make a move.

“I tried to give it back to her,” Addie said. “She kept insisting that I keep it because we’re taking care of Rebel. Then she asked if we wanted the horse—as a gift. She said she’d still continue to pay for him, but she knew she didn’t have the knowledge or the time to do it herself and she thought we might be attached to him.” Addie folded her arms and gave him a frown. “Tell me you’ll take care of this.”

“Yeah,” he said, knowing he now had the excuse he needed. “I will.” Tanner folded the check and stuck it in his pocket. “Where is Kam?”

“He worked late, stopped here to shower, and then headed out for a date. Said he’d be home around ten.”

So Kam wasn’t around to heckle him. “Has Sutter been back over there?”

Addie lifted one shoulder. “Since you and Callie havestarted avoiding each other, I haven’t seen as much of her either.”

“I’m not avoiding her.” Hell, hehadbeen busy. More than anyone, Addie knew that.

She also knew he was full of shit.

Huffing out a breath, Tanner asked, “She’s dodging you?”

“Just not coming around like she had been. Last two times I invited her to dinner, she thanked me but declined. Then today she said she didn’t want to keep you from your own table.”

What the hell? “You told her that wasn’t the case, right?”

With a nod, Addie said, “We can’t take money from her.”

“No, we can’t.” Tanner glanced at Blu. As if the dog anticipated his next move, he jumped to his feet. Percy, put out over it, sauntered away to find another spot to sleep.

“When will you take care of it?” Addie asked.

Blu went to the door and whined. Smart dog. “Right now.” And with that decision made, Tanner already felt better.

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