Page 16 of Shelter for Tanna

Chapter 3

Before he left her at home, Braden gave Tanna a soft, chaste kiss on the lips. He wanted her to feel what he was feeling.

He realized he hadn’t seen much, since their encounter had been brief. And yet, in that short time, Braden had seen Max’s anger when he was told he couldn’t do something he wanted to do. He’d also watched Tanna deal with him and admired her consistency and patience. She really tried to keep him in line and from what he could tell, she was doing a pretty damn good job.

When he pulled up in his own driveway, he stopped the truck and sat. Whatwashe feeling? He’d watched Tanna completely melt at the restaurant, but it hadn’t turned him off. What he felt for her wasn’t pity. It was admiration. Every day was a struggle for her, and she kept putting one foot in front of the other. She didn’t complain, just met it all head-on, and he appreciated that. Strong?that’s what she was, strong and determined. He needed a partner like that, someone who didn’t cave when things got tough. Being the girlfriend or wife of a firefighter wasn’t an easy life, and everything he knew about her told him she wouldn’t throw in the towel when things got wild and crazy.

Sure, Max would be a challenge. Braden still hadn’t been able to get a really good read on him, but Daniel was transparent enough. He seemed like a good kid, and he’d been a lot of help to his mother. That was obvious. But she’d relied too much on him and he wasn’t getting to be a kid. That would stop if Braden came into the picture permanently.

He’d thought of something else too, something he’d have to talk to her about. They weren’t kids anymore, and she had a special needs child to care for. That meant she probably wouldn’t be open to having another child. If they were together, Max and Daniel would be the only children he’d ever have. Would that be enough? He thought about it for a minute, about the pitfalls and rewards of always being a stepdad, and then realized that without their father in the picture, he’d be the only dad they had. Max might be with them for the rest of his life. That would be plenty. A baby wasn’t something he had to have in order to be happy, but he did want kids in his life, and those two would be perfect.

As he walked to the house, he looked up at it. It was almost paid off, and it was plenty big enough for four people. The twenty acres it sat on would be great for a couple of boys to wander, with its little pond and the woods surrounding it. They’d enjoy being there with room to roam instead of a postage stamp-sized yard. Max could burn off some energy helping with the lawn. Maybe they could even have a little garden!

Braden realized his imagination was running away with him, but he didn’t care. That was fine, unless she didn’t want to see him again. He was pretty sure the date had gone well; at least he thought it had. But there was a sure-fire way to find out. As soon as he was inside and settled, he sent her a quick text:Hey, had a great time tonight. Want me to bring over dinner tomorrow night? Unless you’re tired of me. LOL

She didn’t answer, so he changed into his pajama pants and tee and spooned out some ice cream into a bowl. While he ate it, he turned on the TV and watched for a few minutes?nothing but bad news there. There was still no text in answer, and he started to wonder if she was ghosting him. Had he read her completely wrong? Was he that dense?

He finally gave up and got into bed. A science fiction novel he’d been reading was on the nightstand, so he propped himself up on the pillows and opened it. Right at the part where the cyborg army overtook the federal treasury, his phone pinged.

Sorry so late. Phone had to charge. Max likes chicken.

He smiled.Chicken it is. Sides?

Mashed potatoes, gravy, and mac and cheese for him. Daniel and I will eat anything.

I’ll get him his own dinner and get us the bucket and sides. Six?

He watched the three little dots wave on his screen until the text finally popped up.Sounds good. Can’t wait. I enjoyed being out with you tonight.

Aha. He hadn’t misread her. His heart skipped a few beats before he texted back:Get some sleep. See you tomorrow night, doll. Can’t wait.

Braden closed the book and placed it on the nightstand, then switched the bedside light off and snuggled down in his bed. Dinner with Tanna and the boys on a Friday night. Most guys would want to go out and paint the town, but not Braden.

Friday night at home sounded perfect to him.

* * *

Tanna was so excited that she could barely stand it. Braden was willing to spend a Friday evening at her house with her and the boys! She never would’ve expected that, but she hadn’t even had to ask?he’d volunteered. That in itself was a miracle.

She got home about five fifteen to find Daniel trying to straighten things up and Max screaming and running through the house with a toy airplane. That gave her enough time to shower and put on something decent before Braden got there.

But her shower was cut short by Daniel pounding on the bathroom door. “Mom! Mom! Quick! Come out!”

Grabbing her towel, she wrapped it around herself, her hair dripping everywhere, and stuck her head out the door. “What’s wrong?”

“Max took off again! I tried to catch him but he was too fast!”

“Well, shit. I’ll be right there.” Grabbing her dirty clothes off the bathroom floor, she slipped her pants and shirt back on, scooted into a pair of slip-ons at the front door, and jetted out, her wet hair plastered to her head.

Daniel was already most of the way down the block, and Tanna chugged along, pretty sure she knew where Max went. She was almost two blocks out when, to her horror, a familiar truck turned the corner. Truth was, she didn’t have time to worry about how she looked to Braden with her ass jiggling and her boobs bouncing up and down. All that mattered was finding Max. His truck pulled up even with her and he yelled, “What the hell are you doing?”

“Max ran off!” she called out over her shoulder and just kept running.

In seconds, she heard footsteps catching up to her. “Where would he go?” Braden huffed out as he ran alongside her.

“There’s a park about two more blocks down. He sometimes runs there. If he’s not there, I don’t know where he is,” she answered, gasping as she spoke.

The sight that greeted them at the park was chaos. Max was screaming at Daniel and throwing rocks at him so hard and fast that the older boy couldn’t approach the younger one. Before Tanna could speak, Braden ran up behind Max and lifted him off the ground with a hand on either side of his waist. “Put me down!” Max screamed.

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