Page 61 of Fierce-Dane

“I didn’t realize you felt that way.”

“Now you do.” The door opened behind them and Tyler was standing there.

“Dad, are you taking us back home?”

“No, bud. Tiffani forgot Stanley and I had to bring him back. He was lonely without her.”

“Just like Felix is without me too,” Tyler said.

“That’s right,” he said, his voice softer. “Why don’t you go back in and maybe you can play a board game with your mother, sister and Ethan. Wouldn’t that be fun?”

“I think so, but Ethan doesn’t like board games.”

He cleared his throat and looked at Mel. “Maybe if you told him why you and Tiffani like them so much and that it’s nice to share time with each other, he’d give it a shot.”

Tyler shrugged. “I’d rather play them with you.”

“We can do that when you go back to my house. I promise.”

“Okay,” Tyler said.

“Give Dad and me a few more minutes, please,” Mel said to Tyler. Their son shut the door and his ex looked back at him. “Thank you.”

“That wasn’t so hard was it?” he asked. “Maybe next time you’ll put a bit more thought into how to handle things with them. I’m sure Tiffani will tell me how it went.”

He turned and walked off the porch, got in his SUV and then drove to his girlfriend’s house.

For being late he made a quick stop at a bakery, grabbed a few monster cookies and then went on his way.

He got to Sloane’s at six thirty. He didn’t knock. She’d told him he didn’t have to.

He opened the front door and walked to the back toward the kitchen. She was pulling out a pitcher of iced tea and filling a glass.

“Here you go,” she said.

“Thank you.” He took a sip. “Sorry, I’m late.”

“No worries,” she said. “I was running late too so it gave me time to not rush so much. I know you can be held up at work.”

“It wasn’t work,” he said. There was no reason to not tell her.

“Oh,” she said. “Everything okay with the kids?”

The fact she went right there next just warmed his heart.

He set his glass down and pulled her close for a hug. “It is. Or hopefully will be. Tiffani left Stanley at my house.”

“I’m not sure who Stanley is, but I’m going to guess a stuffed animal?”

“Yes,” he said. “Her bunny. Felix is Tyler’s cat. They bring them back and forth. It’s a common comfort for them. I could have said she’d be fine without it.”

“Never,” she said. “She’d have a bad night and you would feel guilty. Then even more guilty because you were with me when you should have brought that to your daughter.”

He gave her a light kiss on the lips. “I’m not sure how you can understand that about me, but yes.”

“I’m not sure how I can either, but I guess I’ve been souncomfortable for most of my life that I believe every little bit we need to help we should get.”

“Yes,” he said. “It’s not a big deal. My guess is she was throwing a fit over it. Ethan was there.”

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