Page 18 of Shelter for Tanna

“Thanks.” Without another word, Max hopped up and ran toward his room.

“Going to pick out a dispenser, I presume?” Braden asked.

Tanna was finishing up her food. “Yep. I’m sure.”

“Mom, may I be excused?” Daniel asked quietly.

Before he could rise, Braden said, “Hold on a second. I want to talk to you.” Daniel had been halfway out of his chair, and he plopped back down, waiting. “First, I want to say I’m very impressed with you. You’re a lot of help to your mother, and I know she appreciates it.”

“Thanks. I try,” the boy answered.

“Second, I don’t think it’s really fair for you to have to be responsible for your brother so much of the time, so when I’m around, I’ll take that role and you won’t have to. Deal?”

Daniel’s head pivoted and he looked to his mother. “Mom, is that okay?”

Tanna could barely see for the tears in her eyes. “Yes, son. That’s fine.”

He nodded to Braden. “Yeah, okay. Sure. But he can be hard to handle.”

“I’m a big guy. I can take it. I don’t know much yet, but I bet you’ll help me, right?”

Daniel nodded. “Sure.”

“Okay. That’s all I wanted. Run on and do whatever you were going to do while I talk to your mom.” They waited as Daniel rose and disappeared down the hallway toward his room. When he was out of sight, Braden reached over and took Tanna’s hand. “Am I overstepping boundaries?”

She shook her head gently. “No. I appreciate it. But I hate that you had to?”

“Shush. It’s fine. You’re a great mom. Now I’m going to clean up the kitchen while you go finish the shower I think you were trying to take when the shit show started.”

“I’ll do it. You just?”

“No. Go,” Braden ordered and pointed down the hallway. “Right now. Get finished and put on something comfortable. I brought some snacks and a movie too. We’ll get all settled in and have a pleasant evening. I don’t mind a bit. Now scoot!” he said playfully and stood to help her up from her chair.

The hot water was soothing on her skin and she could feel some of the tension melting away. So far, Braden had handled every issue they’d had with some kind of inner grace she didn’t seem to possess. What was it about him? He was so calm and rational, and she felt so scattered and anxious all the time. Nothing seemed to ruffle him; everything ruffled her. Of course, he didn’t have to live with it. That was probably the biggest factor.

When she was finished with her shower, she put on clean underclothes, followed by a pair of old sweatpants and a tee shirt. Well, he’d said put on something comfortable, so he might as well see what that looked like. It took her a few minutes to dry her hair, and she wondered what she’d find when she got back to the living room.

Braden was sitting on the sofa, and Max was showing him a couple of PEZ dispensers. “And this one is an Easter one,” she heard him say.

“It sure is. Do you have Halloween ones?”

“Yes. Hold on.” Max passed her as he ran back to his room.

“He really loves those things,” Braden said as he stood, and when she was within reach, he pulled her up against him and hugged her hard. “Hello there. Look at you, all cute and sweet-smelling!”

She pressed her face into his chest and sighed. “I’m sorry for all the confusion earlier.”

His hands wrapped around her upper arms and he pushed her back to look into her face. “Hey, no biggie. I’m just glad I was here to help and that he’s okay. Everything turned out fine.”

“But the next time?”

“There may not be a next time,” Braden scolded.

“Oh, there’ll be a next time, and the time after that, and the time after that,” Tanna asserted.

“You don’t know that for a fact. Has it ever occurred to you that if you expect the worst of him, he’ll do his best to not disappoint you?”

Those words smacked her in the face as she stood there. Holy shit, was that what she was doing? She always expected Max to behave in the worst possible manner. She’d never thought about the fact that he might be doing what he was doing because she thought he wasn’t capable of behaving any better. “Maybe I don’t know how to expect more out of him because he’s usually so difficult.”

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