Page 28 of Let Me Be the One

“Yeah, there were. He followed me here, and man, Addie was a sight to see. I was holding a traumatized pup, but Addie refused to take him so that I could handle things.”

“Hmm. She probably knew how you’d handle it.”

“I’d have thrown his sorry ass off the property.” It was bad enough how he’d treated the dog, but then to disrespect Addie, too? “I put the dog in the bathroom and got between Addie and the abusive asshole, but she’s not one to stay behind a man.” He rubbed his mouth, remembering that day only too well. Now he was more amused by Addie’s temper than anything else. “To add to the confusion, the cops showed up.”

There’d been other times, as a kid, when the cops had come to Addie’s house because someone had blamed him for something. It had always scared him spitless, leaving him frantic to shore up his courage while worrying that they’d arrest him, that they’d take him away from the first good place he’d ever had.

But as a man, he’d been more concerned for Addie and Blu.

“She can be a whirlwind and she gave the cops an earful before they even had a chance to say hello.”

“Did the cops arrest the man?”

Huh. Funny that Callie made that assumption. For him, still, when cops were involved, his expectations were of dire consequences, not assistance. Callie, with her blessed life, had a different outlook—and he was glad. “Matter of fact, they did. He’d been raging at Addie, kicking at the door, threatening me, and theabuse was visible on Blu. The miserable fuck got hit with a big fine and jail time, plus he had to pay for Blu’s vet bills. Best of all, he was forbidden from getting any more pets.”

“Perfect.” Callie quietly applauded. “You’re a real-life hero, and to think I’m your neighbor.”

“Temporary neighbor.” Damn, that denial was fast becoming a habit. To get her back to talking about herself, Tanner asked, “So your big dream wedding was ruined. Do you have regrets?”

“Only that I won’t get the kids, family vacations, or special holidays that I was envisioning.” Wrinkling her nose again, she said, “It sounds self-indulgent to complain, since I never had to do without, but I wanted to do thingsmyway, you know? Like a real Christmas tree, instead of fake. A mudroom off the laundry room becausemykids would be allowed to play in the dirt, and I’d need a place to clean the dog’s paws when I walked him in the rain.”

He liked her vision. A lot. “I think it sounds nice, not indulgent.” He couldn’t stop himself from saying, “We sell Christmas trees here, so we’ve always had real. Well, always once I was with Addie.” Before that, the only Christmas décor he’d seen was around town. “They smell great and we have fun decorating them.”

A wistful expression softened her eyes. “See, that. That’s what I wanted and it’s the reason I was willing to get married.”

“News flash, darlin’, you don’t need to get married to have a dog or a real Christmas tree.”

“Right?” Excited, she propped her elbows on the table and glanced from side to side, as if to ensure they were still alone.

He, of course, was extremely aware of the fact that no one else was around.

“I haven’t told Glory this yet, but I went ahead and bought the china and silverware.” She grinned. “And the bedding and towels. All the stuff I’d put on my wedding registry.”

“For yourself?”

“Why not? I splurged and got my favorites of the stuff I’d picked out for my house. It’s in storage right now, but if I settle here—”

When he opened his mouth, she cut him off.

“—or wherever, really, I’ll use it. I wanted it and I figured I didn’t need a guy to get it.”

Enjoying this private glimpse of her character, Tanner gave her a mock frown and teasingly asked, “Guess you’re one of those empowered women?”

“Heck yes, I am.” After lifting her coffee mug in his direction, she tipped it up and finished it off.

The way she set the mug aside, with so much finality, he knew their quiet interlude had come to an end. Just as well. He’d already shared far too much.

“I should get a move on,” she said.

“You just made more coffee.”

“For Addie and Kam, since I drank so much of the first pot. I’ve got a huge day ahead of me with a lot to accomplish.”

Reluctant for it to end, Tanner didn’t appreciate the reminder that they were, in fact, at odds.

They both started to stand when Addie stepped into the kitchen.

Wearing her well-worn pink robe and slippers, she eyed them both with curiosity. “Good morning.” She bent to kiss Tanner’s cheek, then looked at Callie,frowned, and turned back to Tanner. “Didn’t you offer her a cookie?”

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