Page 33 of Shelter for Tanna

“And did I look fine?”

“Also yes, but covered in black stuff.”

“Tanna, listen to me. We take a lot of measures to make sure we’re safe. We train constantly. We check our equipment constantly. We make sure our comm equipment is working right, and we try to work out and keep in shape. Everything we do around here, we do to help us stay safe while we’re doing our jobs. I get that it scared you, but it’s what I do. You know yourself that we don’t have very many fires of that magnitude. We’re usually working traffic accidents or getting cats out of trees. This just happened to not be one of those times. You’re going to have to be okay with this, because it’s my job. Actually, I see it as a calling.” When she didn’t speak, he said it again. “You’re going to have to be okay with this. Are you okay with this?”

“No. Yes. I don’t know.” She knew her voice came out as more of a whine, and she didn’t care. “I was scared. I just found you. What if I lose you?”

“We’ll talk more about this later. Right now, I need a shower. And no, I haven’t showered or cleaned up yet. I just wanted to talk to you. It was rough and very stressful, and hearing your voice has really helped me calm down, although I have to say I’m not happy with how upset you are.”

“Neither am I.”

“Then let’s talk about this later. But we can’t be together if you can’t come to grips with this, because it’s what I do, babe. It’s all I know how to do. It’s all Iwantto do. Do you understand?”

She felt like a petulant child being scolded. “Yes. I understand.”

“Good. I’m going to take a shower, put on some clean clothes, and take a little nap. We got down there this morning at about two thirty and I’m exhausted. You finish out your day and try to feel better about this, okay?”

Tanna felt completely defeated and more than a little embarrassed. To Braden, she must’ve sounded like a complete lunatic, but she wasn’t sure how she was supposed to feel about him being in that much danger. “Okay. I’ve got runs to make. I’ll talk to you later.”

“Tanna?”

She could only imagine what he was about to say to her. “Yeah?”

“We’ll work this out, doll. You know that. I want a long, happy life with you, and I’m not going to do anything to screw that up, at least not intentionally. Do you believe me?”

That was it?Tanna started to cry. “Yes! I believe you! But I was so scared!”

“I know, baby. It’s going to take you a while to wrap your brain around this, but you eventually will. For right now, I’m fine. We’re talking on the phone. We’re making plans to talk later, and you know I’ll see you tomorrow evening. Everything’s okay, right?”

“Uh-huh!” she sobbed into the phone.

“That’s my girl. Now straighten yourself up and go on to work. I’ll talk to you this afternoon.”

“Okay. Talk to you this afternoon. Bye.” She ended the call, dropped the phone into the seat of the truck, and bawled.

But sure enough, she talked to him at about four o’clock, and he called her just before she went to bed. Her body ached to be against his, but his voice would do temporarily. When they’d finished talking, she turned off the light and rolled over in the bed, pulling the covers up under her chin. He was okay. He was safe. And that was all that mattered.

* * *

Nita called her halfway through the day Thursday and said Daniel had asked her to take him to the store after school so he could buy what he needed to fix dinner. When Tanna argued that he shouldn’t have asked and he didn’t have any money, Nita argued back. “Look, this kid wants to cook dinner for his family. I’m going to help him do that, okay? You’ve got a son who’s an exceptional human being. Honor that. You can pay me back later for the groceries.”

“Okay,” Tanna answered, not knowing what else to say. God, she was grateful for Nita! The young woman had turned out to be a true friend, and it was a blessing to have her in their lives.

She pulled into the driveway that evening and Braden pulled in right behind her. “Hey, I didn’t know you were going to be here so soon!”

He grinned. “I was summoned for dinner by Daniel.”

That confused Tanna. “How did he summon you?”

Braden just laughed. “I have his number and he has mine! He texted me!” She supposed she looked shocked when he answered, “Yes. We exchanged. You don’t need to know everything, Mom.” That made her laugh.

“My gosh, son, this was really good!” Braden crowed as he pushed himself back from the dinner table an hour later.

“Yes, it was!” Tanna added. Sure, the spaghetti sauce was a little bland. Daniel didn’t know what herbs to add to it. He also didn’t know she always put sausage in the sauce instead of plain ground beef. Regardless, it was a wonderful effort on his part, and she’d thoroughly enjoyed it. Better yet, the boy was beaming with pride. “I’m so glad you did this! You’re so grown up.”

“Stop, Mom. You’re embarrassing me,” Daniel mumbled, and she heard Braden chuckle.

“I can’t help it. I love you and I’m proud of you.”

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