Page 22 of His Sassy Little

“That sounds great. I’ll ask Tanner about it.” Arabella smiled for the millionth time that day. She really had made a friend.

“I need you to meet another of my friends. We are going to switch back and forth on surveillance and staying with you so I’d like to make sure you’re comfortable with him. Rocky has been doing surveillance on Diana, but Ham is taking that on for a bit so you can meet Rocky.” Tanner had seemed a bit off since they’d left the shop and it was coming through in his tone. He was angry about something and trying to keep his temper in check.

“Daddy?”

“Yeah, Little Hurricane?”

“Can I ask you something?” Arabella fiddled with her jeans to keep her nervous hands busy.

“You can ask me anything, Baby.” His voice had softened considerably, and it gave Arabella the courage to continue.

“Why are you angry? Did I do something wrong?”

She was terrified of his answer but did her best to hide it. Somehow she knew he’d never hurt her but she wasn’t able to hide the flinch when he turned to her suddenly. She calmed immediately when he slowly reached out and palmed her cheek.

“No, Little Hurricane. I am not mad at you, I’m mad for you.” Tanner’s voice had gone to that soothing, soft tone he used with her. It reminded her of when her dad used to talk to a skittish horse on the farm. It was so calming and put her so at ease.

“Mad for me? Why?” Arabella couldn’t think of anything that had happened to incite this level of protectiveness.

“I got some background info on your life with him and it upset me on your behalf.”

“Oh.” Suddenly, she was even more nervous.

Tanner knew who she was and even though she had expected him to look into her, there was still that part of her reminding her that the one time she’d let people in on what happened, it hadn’t ended well. She was terrified of something happening to another person she cared about.

Standing in Tanner’s living room, Arabella stared at an extremely tall, muscular, intimidating man. He was obviously the strong, silent type, since he hadn’t said anything since he’d shaken her hand and introduced himself as “Rocky”. Arabella wondered if that was another nickname or his real name but was too intimidated to ask. She wasn’t sure having him around would be good for her, she trusted Tanner’s judgment but this guy seemed scary.

“Rocky doesn’t say much, and he looks like a big, mean dude but he has a heart of gold and would do anything to protect those in his care.” Tanner was talking quietly and in what she was coming to think of as his skittish horse tone. “You don’t need to be scared of him, Little Hurricane.” Arabella felt herself relax instinctively. She really did trust Tanner so she’d give this a shot.

“It’s nice to meet you, Rocky.” Arabella was unsure if she meant that yet, but figured time would tell. It was past time she started giving people the benefit of the doubt again.

Then and there, she made the choice to no longer let her past affect her current interactions. Besides, Tanner recommended him and if there was one thing she was certain of, it was that Tanner would never put her in a dangerous situation.

Chapter Seventeen

Tanner was once again sitting in his car watching a slightly run-down apartment building for any signs of movement. He wasn’t as focused as he should be. He was nervous about being away from Arabella. She hadn’t gotten as comfortable with Rocky as he’d hoped before he left. He could easily see her discomfort but he’d needed to make sure there wasn’t a break in surveillance.

Tanner knew Rocky had a heart of gold, but Arabella knew nothing about him. Pulling out his phone, Tanner stared at the contact information for the burner phone he’d gotten Arabella. He was torn on whether to call her and check in. He needed to know she was doing alright, but he didn’t want her to think he was overbearing and inadvertently remind her of her ex.

Tanner looked back at the building, then down at his phone, back to the building again and decided fuck it. He dialed. The phone rang five times before going to voicemail and Tanner’s heart hit his throat, immediately going to the worst case scenario. He didn’t wait to leave a message, simply hung up. Just as he was getting ready to redial, his phone rang. Seeing Arabella’s name on the screen, he took a deep breath, let his heart rate settle some before answering. He didn’t want to sound as panicked as he’d felt.

“Hey, Little Hurricane.”

“Hi, Daddy.” Her voice was breathless as if she’d been running, but it was free of tension and that was enough to reassure Tanner she was doing fine. “Sorry, that’s the first time the phone rang. I wasn’t expecting it. I actually thought it was Rocky’s phone for a minute, so I didn’t make it before it went to voicemail.” Her chuckle settled in his chest, causing warmth to bloom.

“It’s fine, Baby. I was just checking in, seeing how it was going with Rocky.” Tanner kept his eyes on the building, watching as lights shone through the curtains of the particular apartment he was interested in.

“It’s going great!” Arabella’s voice rang with happiness, “You were right, once he opens up, he’s a pretty sweet guy.” Tanner felt that warmth again.

Rocky didn’t open up easily, it took a lot for him to trust given his past, so the fact that he had given it to Arabella so quickly really made him happy. He hoped all his friends would like her since he planned to keep her forever.

“How’re things with Jane?” Ham stood at Tanner’s car window, his expression turning pensive at Tanner’s question.

“That woman is about as stubborn as they come. I guess they are as well as they can be, considering she won’t share and let her friends help her.” Frustration bled from Ham’s words.

“Mostly, we just wish she’d trust us, you know? It’s hard caring about her, knowing something is wrong, and not being able to help or even know how serious it is.”

“I know. If she hadn’t sworn me to secrecy… I just…” his expression became soft, and determination shone in his eyes, “I can’t break her trust. Not for anything.”

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