Page 29 of Shelter for Tanna

“That’s still dangerous!”

“And your job’s not?”

Braden didn’t have an answer for that. She was right?his job was dangerous too, and she wasn’t insisting he do his in a particular way to make her happy. If that was her job, she was expected to do it, and yet it scared the shit out of him to think she might be hurt or worse just picking up a car. No job was worth that. “I’m sorry,” he whispered and hugged her a little closer. “That just scares me.”

“It scares me too, but it’s the only way I have to make enough money for us to survive. I tried the whole retail thing and I just couldn’t make a living wage at it. At least in this job I get a man’s wages, not a woman’s.” That thought made Braden furious because he knew she was right. No matter how many laws were in place, women still made less than men doing the same jobs, and it wasn’t right. But it was reality.

He heard his own voice as clear as day in his head.I’ve got to get her out of this. All of them. I’ve got to take care of them. They have nobody, and that’s got to end.They had to launch their relationship and move it forward. She and her kids deserved better.

When it was time for the boys to go to bed, Braden was still sitting in the living room. “Hey, hug me goodnight?” he asked Max. To his delight, the younger boy launched himself into Braden’s arms, and the big man gave him a hearty hug. “Get some sleep. See you tomorrow.”

“Are you spending the night?” Daniel asked as he leaned in for his own hug.

“Yeah. Just sleeping over, that’s all. No big deal. I won’t make a peep, I promise, although I’ve been told I snore like a chainsaw.”

Daniel was laughing as he headed to his bedroom. “Oh, great. Try to hold it down. I’ve got a test tomorrow.”

“I’ll take that under advisement,” Braden called back.

“I’ll be there in just a minute to tuck you in,” Tanna called after them. “Guess I’d better take care of that.”

“Yeah. I’ll go slip into my pajamas and I’ll meet you in the bedroom,” he told her as she rose and wandered down the hallway.

Twenty minutes later they lay in Tanna’s bed, wrapped in each other’s arms. Yeah, he wanted her, and he was hard as a rock, but nothing was going to happen, at least not that evening. And if being close to her was all he could manage, that was more than enough.

That was everything.

Chapter 5

Tanna waved to Braden as they both left the driveway the next morning, with him headed for home to get ready for work and her on her way to take the boys to school. Once they were dropped off, she drove to the office and parked in her usual spot.

She’d no more than cleared the door when Charlie handed her a paper. “Here. First assignment.”

“Where?”

“Side of the interstate.” That meant it was a county pickup. The city and county contracted with their wrecker service to remove vehicles off roadways, and apparently it was one of those. At least there’d be no need for police presence at that one. It also meant she didn’t have to ask for the ultimate destination. It would be taken to the county impound lot and from there, who knew where it would wind up?

Tanna climbed into her truck and wheeled out of the lot. Ben, the guy who worked evenings, always used her truck, and the seat was scooted so far back that she had to adjust it before she could leave. Why he liked her truck she wasn’t sure, but she could always tell when he had driven it because the seat was as far back as it would go, and the radio was tuned in to some sports station. Oh, and cigarette butts filled the ashtray. She hated that.

Based on the mile marker given, she knew about where the car would be, and she wasn’t surprised when she spotted it from a distance. It was a nondescript little burgundy sedan, a Ford, sitting there with an orange tag on the back window. That meant it had been there for at least three days. What kind of people had enough money to just abandon a car on the side of the road? She couldn’t imagine. She pulled over in front of it, backed up, and hit the lever to send the wheel lift out. There wasn’t much traffic on the interstate that morning, and she checked her mirror before she pulled out. Something caught her eye in that brief moment.

Another car. It hadn’t been there when she pulled over, and it was about a quarter of a mile behind her. When she was safely in traffic, she checked again in her rearview mirror, but the little blue car still sat there, and she figured it was just someone who’d stopped to tend to a small child or clean up a spill.

The drive to the impound lot wasn’t far, and she headed straight there. The regular guy, Joey, wasn’t at the gate, so a guy named Phil let her in. They unloaded the car into the lot and in minutes, she was on her way. It wouldn’t sit there long. They’d assign it a number and parking space, and if the owners wanted it, they’d have to go through the county sheriff’s office to find out where it was and pay all the fines and fees. There were three county lots, and it could be assigned to any of them.

Nothing else happened all day, and she spent the afternoon cleaning out the truck from Ben’s trashiness and helping Charlie with some orders for supplies. Lunchtime had barely passed when Braden texted her to tell her hello and that he was thinking about her. That made her whole day better.

Snuggling in his arms the night before had been heaven. He was warm and strong and smelled amazing, and all she really wanted was to feel that connection with someone. Braden was that someone. She knew it in her gut. And for the first time in a long time, she was pretty sure her gut was right.

* * *

“No! No, no no! They can’t do that!” he screamed as he watched.

Beau rolled down the car window and spat before he answered. “Looks like they’re gonna.”

The skinny, dark-haired guy pounded the steering wheel. “I thought it was two weeks! It’s only been sittin’ there three days!”

“Yeah, well, now what we gonna do, Wayne? We gotta get this car back to DimSum, and then we gotta figure out how we gonna take care of this. All our shit’s in the trunk, man. We need it.”

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