“You’re a fucking idiot,” I mutter to myself as I clear the plates away and carry them to the sink.
I should leave her be for a while. Let her calm down.
I lean against the counter, and then decide, fuck that.
When I get to her front door, I knock loudly.
She doesn’t answer.
So, I knock again. “Come on, Sarah, I want to talk to you.”
She cracks the door and glares at me through tear-filled eyes, and it’s almost my undoing.
“Hey, don’t cry.”
“Just go away, Tanner.”
She tries to close the door, but I press my hand against it, stopping it.
“Please let me in, Sarah.”
Finally, she just walks away, and I set off after her. The house isn’t that big, so there’s not far to go.
“I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings,” I begin and then take a step back when she whirls on me and advances like we’re in the ring and a million dollars is on the line for the winner.
“You didn’thurt my feelings, you nitwit. You pissed me off. I don’t need you to decide what’s best for me. I can do that by myself.”
“You’re right. You’re more than capable. And Ididsee you hurting and thought I could swoop in and help. But, and hear me out here, the client would likely pay several thousand dollars for each piece, Sarah.”
“I don’t—” She stops. Stares. “You accidentally said severalthousanddollars.”
“No accident. And she’ll be there whenever you’re ready. There’s no pressure.”
“Felt like pressure, Tanner. Thank you for trying to help me. I know it came from a place of kindness and care for me, but—”
“Love.” I shake my head and walk to her, no longer afraid that she might poke my eyes out, and cup her face in my hands. “It came from a place oflove.Because I love you, and I want you to be happy. If that means that you want to work at Gordy’s, great. If you want to sell art, cool. Hell, if you want to sit on my deck all day with your cat, I’m down for that.”
“I hear the pay for that is really bad these days.”
“I was a prick in my delivery back there, and I regret it. I’m sorry. You’re brave and hardworking, and you’re doing damn well without me butting my nose in.”
“Yes. I am.” She firms her chin, but her eyes have softened, which tells me that I might almost be out of hot water. “Please don’t do something like that again, even when it’s done with love. I don’t want you to feel like you have to do things for me. But, I’m totally open to you doing thingswithme.”
“I can definitely live with that. I guess I should throw away that letter of resignation that I’d written up for you to give Gordy.”
Her eyes widen, and then she laughs. “I do love that you’re a smartass. It’s kind of fun.”
I wakethe next morning to Sarah’s phone beeping with an alarm.
“What’s that?” Sarah murmurs, still half-asleep and reaching for her phone, as I sit up and drag my hand down my face. “Holy shit, is someone trying to break in?”
“Not here,” I reply grimly and yank on a pair of jeans. “Your place. You stayhere.Do not leave this room. Call 9-1-1 and stay put. Promise me.”
“I’ll stay. Calling now.”
I don’t turn on any lights as I slink through the house to the back door and crack it open just a couple of inches so I can see what’s going on out there. If someone is breaking in, I don’t want to alert them that we know. I don’t see any extra vehicles in the driveway.
But I do see a flashlight in the house.