Page 53 of Tameron

‘Men.’

Dax quickly held up his hands in surrender.

‘Three…’ My finger hovered. ‘Sign slow, be patient. He’s learning. Don’t make fun of him if he gets stuff wrong.’

At that, both my parents looked offended. ‘You know we won’t,’ my dad reminded me.

I did. I did know that. I was just being sensitive. ‘I want him to enjoy his time here. He hasn’t had the best experience since he started exploring his deafness, so he’s nervous. I told him this is a safe space.’

My dad leaned forward and made a noise in the back of his throat as he waved his hand at me. ‘It is safe. And he’ll see this can be good.’

‘No pressure,’ I warned him. ‘He might not ever feel Deaf pride.’

‘None of that matters,’ my mom insisted. ‘What matters is that he feels happy.’

That was so like her. I smiled, then let her tug me down for a group hug, though Dax had no intention of joining. Instead, he shot me a middle finger over my dad’s back, and I responded in kind.

The hug didn’t last long. My dad hopped up to check on his girls, my mom to check on the roast, and Dax got on FaceTime with whomever he was talking to that week. The house settled back into normal, and the only thing making me feel off was the anxiety sparking and popping up and down my spine.

Then the lamps began to flash, and I ran before anyone could get any ideas. My socked feet skidded on the floor as I came to a halt, and I caught myself on the door handle. “Breathe,” I told myself, then followed my own orders.

The lights flashed again. Shit, right. I had to actually answer the door.

I heard footsteps coming, so I quickly yanked it open before whoever was behind me could approach. My heart startedbeating hard, the way it always did when I saw Tameron Halsey–yes, I’d finally learned his last name.

“Tam.”

His lips quirked at the nickname I’d accidentally given to him. I was still testing it, but so far, every time I used it, he blushed. “Hey. Am I—oh. Um.”

I felt a presence behind me and turned my head to see my mom creeping up. ‘Go!’ I ordered.She rolled her eyes and scoffed but turned and walked off. After a beat, I gave Tameron my attention. “Sorry. They’ve been given strict instructions on how to act today.”

“Oh god, don’t say that!” he said, mortified. “They’re going to think I’m some fussy little princess.”

My neck heated. I kind of liked the idea of him being a fussy little princess. But it was obvious he didn’t. Reaching out, I took him by the wrist and tugged him inside, gesturing to where he could put his shoes. “Relax. It’s not like that. But my parents can be overwhelming. They mostly associate with other Deaf people and forget their way of socializing can be a lot to someone who has…” I hesitated, then said, “PTSD.”

He swallowed heavily. “Yeah. Okay. Thank you.”

Smiling, I tugged on him a little, and he came into my arms easily, melting against my chest. He tucked his nose into my neck and breathed in deep. “Come on. I’ll show you around and then we can go outside and meet my dad’s girls.”

He pulled back. “His…girls, you said?”

“Chickens.” I pinched my thumb and forefinger together, with the back of my hand touching my lips. “He has a bunch of them. He’ll probably make you take eggs home.”

“Those are like gold,” he said with a grin. “I’m not gonna say no.”

The tour through the house was uneventful. He stared at the way the living room was set up—the chairs and the couchmaking a sort of C shape so no one was left out of the signing sightline. And then all the mirrors on most of the walls, which I caught him staring at.

“Deaf people don’t have a preternatural ability to know when someone’s coming up behind them. Mirrors help. Also, so you can face the other direction, but see if someone’s talking to you.”

“I never thought about that,” he said quietly.

I knew that. There was so much he didn’t know—so many things that could make his life easier. He just had to relax and stop seeing accessibility as a mark of failure and loss. But it wasn’t the time to bring that up again. He’d come to that conclusion on his own.

In reality, I just wanted this day to be about him feeling comfortable with my family. I still wasn’t ready to fully hope that he and I could make something of this, but if we wanted to try in the future, I needed him to know now that this family would be ready and willing to be his too.

Hearing or Deaf, there was a place for him.

Making our way into the kitchen, he hung back as I waved to get my mom’s attention. She knew I was there but took her time turning around. Her gaze found his and she gave him a slow up-and-down look before walking over.

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