Page 4 of Shelter for Tanna

“Hey, Dad! These two are slaving away. Got a beer for me?”

“I bet I have more than enough for both of us. Let’s get out of their hair.”

“You coming back for the cleanup?” Jessica asked.

Braden laughed loudly. “Hell yeah, if you’ll give me a spoon and turn me loose!”

“You clean up,” Marsha said, “and you can eat all you want.”

“I’m in!” His dad handed him a beer at that moment and the two men wandered out onto the porch. Ah, porch sittin’. It was an art form in the south, and Kentucky natives had perfected it, as far as he was concerned. Not only that, but the early fall weather was gorgeous, with a light breeze and the scent of hay and falling leaves in the air.

No matter what, his dad had always been his best friend. Sure, he was a father, and he’d been a strict one too. But Braden had watched his classmates and their dads and realized early on he was lucky to have the one he had. JakeNichols was a straight shooter, a disciplinarian, a fisherman, and a dedicated husband and father. Because of his diligence and commitment, Braden had grown up in a household where he felt safe, loved, and encouraged, and it had quickly become clear to him that not many kids had something that special. He wanted to pass that same feeling along to his kids one day, if he ever had any.

He’d begun to think that wouldn’t happen. Most of the women he’d dated simply wanted an arm charm and to brag about dating a firefighter. Braden considered himself okay-looking, but he really didn’t think of himself as a prize. Oddly, when he tried to approach women who weren’t raving beauties, they treated him as though he was trying to pull some kind of joke on them, and he didn’t understand that either. Why couldn’t anyone just judge him for who he was, a nice guy trying to build a life for himself?

Tanna drifted through his mind again as he sat down with his dad on the porch. “So, son, what have you been up to?”

“Same old thing. Work. Oh, I got the upstairs bathroom rewired the other day. Took me most of the day, but it’s done. Put in a GFCI and the whole business.”

“Good! You’ve really done a good job with that house, Braden. I’m proud of you.” Those words? He lived for them. He wanted to make his parents proud.

“Next is the tile for the master bath. God, I’m dreading that.” Did he dare? Why the hell not? “Hey, can I ask you something?”

Jake laughed. “Of course! Anything.”

“I have no objectivity. Am I some hunky, hot firefighter? Women keep treating me that way and I really don’t know what to think.”

Two eyes cut to the side to stare at him from underneath a forehead that wrinkled downward. “I think I’m the wrong person to ask about that! I don’t know what women find hot, except that woman in the kitchen, and I’m lucky she finds me hot. God knows why! You need to talk to your sister on that one.” Jake hesitated, then asked, “Why would you ask me that?”

“Because… Women. I don’t understand them, Dad.” Jake laughed so hard that he snorted. “Hey, I’m being serious here! The pretty ones treat me like a piece of meat and the average ones think I’m trying to be a smartass when I ask them out. I don’t know what to do anymore.”

Jake sat for a minute and Braden wondered what he was going to say. The older man tented his fingers, the indexes resting on his chin as he thought. When he did speak, he said, “I know this isn’t much help. I know you don’t want to hear it. But when you meet the right one, it will all fall into place. I promise. You’ll know it’s right, she’ll know it’s right, and everybody else will be able to see it. Just be patient, Braden.”

“I’ve been patient. I’m thirty-seven. I don’t want to be raising little kids when I’m in my fifties, Dad.”

“You should come to church with your mother and me. There are all kinds of single women there and?”

“Uh, nope. I think not, but thanks anyway.” He wasn’t even sure he should mention her name, as though doing so would seal the fate of any possible relationship he might be able to talk her into. Then he decided he had nothing to lose and forged ahead. “So, I met this woman and I’m trying to figure out if I should even attempt to contact her.”

He had Jake’s full attention. “Go on.”

“I was at an accident scene the other day and she was one of the tow truck drivers.”

“A female tow truck driver?” his dad asked, eyes wide.

“Yeah, I know. Surprised me too. But she was really surly. You know, kinda like guys have given her a lot of shit and she just has no time for it. And I don’t know if I should even approach her or not. Honestly, if she’s somebody I’m going to wind up fighting with over and over, I don’t need that.”

“I get it. So based on what you’ve told me, give her a chance. What’s the worst that can happen? She says no.” Jake chuckled and added, “Well, I suppose she could punch you in the face, but I doubt she’d do that.”

Braden laughed. “It’s been known to happen!”

“Hopefully it won’t this time. Be positive.”

“Thanks. Guess I’ll see if I can find her. Shouldn’t be too hard. It’s not like there are dozens of female tow truck operators around!” That was sure true, especially in BowlingGreen. He’d never seen another one, so she should be pretty easy to track down.

That settled it. He’d try to contact her the next day. The worst that could happen? She could say no.

* * *

---