Page 23 of His Sassy Little

“I get it. As much as we’d like to know and help, we’d never ask you to.” Tanner thought about the situation, “We’ll either find a way to convince her to let us in or we’ll come up with some way to help that doesn’t mean betraying her confidence.” He clapped Ham’s shoulder as the other man stared into space with a worried expression. “It’ll work out.” Tanner wasn’t sure how it would, but he was certain they’d figure it out, together.

“Yeah,” Ham muttered absently and started to turn away.

“Rocky will be here in about three hours.” Tanner called before Ham could get too far. “Does that work, or do you need him here sooner?”

“That’s fine.” Tanner hated the dejected tone in his friend’s words and wished there was more he could do. But without knowing the situation, all of the guys were stuck doing basically nothing, no matter how much they wanted to help.

With a sigh, Tanner started his car and headed home to his girl. Hopefully, he’d get some time with her before the long night caught up to him and he passed out.

Tanner let himself into his house and was immediately assaulted with the delicious smells of bacon, eggs, and - if his guess was right - pancakes. The sounds of giggles rang through the air, and he smiled. It seemed Arabella was indeed comfortable with Rocky now, despite his massive frame, perpetual scowl, and quiet demeanor.

“Can you make a mermaid? I love mermaids!” Arabella’s voice was filled with excitement and wonder, making Tanner even more grateful to his friend.

It had been many years since Rocky had been around a Little. He’d even avoided meeting Sapphire so far. Despite the years, his grief still had a hold on him and he wasn’t ready. Honestly, it had surprised Tanner that Rocky even agreed to this arrangement. Tanner had hated to ask his friend; he just hadn’t had much of an option. It seemed to be working out, though, based on the sound of male laughter floating his way. Tanner thought it might even be helping the man.

“I can give it a shot, Little One. It might look more like a guppy, though.” Rocky chuckled again as Tanner came into view of the kitchen.

Coming to an abrupt halt, Tanner took in the scene before him. Rocky stood in the kitchen wearing an apron and squeezing batter with deliberate strokes using a condiment dispenser. The batter sizzled when it hit the skillet.

“I don’t think my pancake art skills are up to mermaid levels yet, munchkin.” Rocky added. “You have to promise you won't laugh.”

Neither seemed to notice he was there so he stood back and watched for a bit, marveling at how Arabella had brought laughter and smiles to his friend. It had been way too long since Tanner had seen Rocky smile genuinely.

“I can’t promise that, but even if it does look like a guppy, at least I have a knight on a… well, I was gonna say white horse but it’s not white. It’s more of a tan horse.” This time when Arabella laughed, Tanner did as well, giving away his presence.

“Daddy!” Arabella hopped out of her booster seat, plate in hand and ran toward him.

“No running, Little Hurricane.” Tanner admonished gently.

“Sorry, Daddy. I just wanted to show you.” Arabella held out her plate for him to see. “Look! Isn’t it great?”

On the plate was an almost perfectly done knight on a horse, made from pancake batter. “Almost too good to eat.” He said, hoping the catch in his voice wasn’t noticeable.

It had also been a very long time since he’d seen that particular piece of artwork. Yes, this arrangement was certainly doing Rocky some good.

Chapter Eighteen

Last night had been rough. Arabella hadn’t realized how comfortable she’d already become after only a couple nights of sleeping with Tanner close by. Not until he hadn’t been there last night and she’d tossed and turned for quite a while. When she had fallen asleep, her nightmares had chased her. They’d been different from the usual, though. This time, they hadn’t been flashes of her past but worry for the future. Specifically, Tanner’s future. She’d been caught up in dreams of terrible things happening to him because of his association with her. She must have cried out in her sleep because she’d been startled awake to find Rocky there.

She’d been highly embarrassed to have been caught in a nightmare by Rocky, but he’d quickly calmed her down and led her to the kitchen. Then, he proceeded to make delicious and beautiful pancakes. She’d offered to help him, but he’d refused the offer saying it had been a while since he’d gotten to take care of someone. The sadness in his eyes when he said that had encouraged her to sit back and let him work. It had also made her determined to make him smile and she’d succeeded. His smile really did transform his face, making him seem more open and less intimidating.

When Daddy had arrived, she’d been over the moon to see him and eager to show off her treasure. His response was perfect, even though she’d seen a mixture of emotions on his face. Rocky had told her last night that the friendship between him and Tanner had started long before the club had been formed. Rocky had been Tanner’s superior for many years in the military and saw him as the son he’d never had.

Now they were all seated at the table eating a breakfast that looked much too big for only three people and Arabella was chuckling to herself. The “mermaid” pancake did indeed look more like a fish with boobs. She wondered how he could make such a perfect knight, but a mermaid was beyond him.

“What are you chuckling about, Little Hurricane?” Tanner asked as she was trying to decide whether to chop off a misshapen head, or overly fishy tail first.

“Nothing, Daddy.” She didn’t want to offend Rocky by explaining, he’d asked her not to laugh after all.

“Go ahead and tell him you’re amused by my sad attempt at a mermaid.” Rocky’s voice held a great deal of amusement and none of the offense she’d feared so she let her laughter out. “I told you it would be bad.”

His chuckle was gruff, like it’d been a while since he’d laughed and Arabella vowed to do her best to change that in their time together. She liked him and it gave her an icky feeling in her tummy that he was so sad.

“It really is,” she had to force the words out as she looked again at the odd creation and laughed again, this time loudly, “I mean…” her stomach was hurting. She was laughing so hard by now, holding up her plate and showing Daddy. His warm laughter joined hers as she declared, “It’s a fish… with boobs!”

“It is pretty bad.” Tanner chuckled, “Guess you’ll have to make many more, Old Man. Can’t let this blemish remain on your pancake art record.”

“I have a feeling I’ll get plenty of practice while I’m hanging out here.” There was another of those smiles. She had a feeling she was going to have fun making Rocky smile.

---