Page 46 of Tanner's Forever

“Sorry, I kept hanging up. Just trying to gather my nerves, I guess.”

“It’s alright. Don’t worry about it. Are you okay?”

She gives an enthusiastic, “Yeah, I’m fine. I just wanted to talk to you. I was thinking that maybe I was a little too hasty the other day.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. I mean, I still have no idea what I’m doing, but maybe we could talk some more. And maybe I could see you next time you’re back in town.”

The smile on my face is one of a man who just hit the lottery.

“I would love that.”

She exhales a heavy sigh of relief. “Okay, good. I was worried that you were already hanging out with someone new.”

“Nope. Just me.”

We are silent for a moment before I say, “So, tell me about your day, beautiful.”

Chapter Seventeen

Erin

Afewdayshavegone by since I decided to reach out and call Tanner. Part of me still has no idea how I’m going to make this whole thing work. My Tanner world and my motherhood world seem like two totally different things, and I am clueless on how to meld the two.

But the other part of me?

That part feels like a teenage girl again, smitten with her new boyfriend. The man can turn my whole day around with one, “Hope you’re having a good day, beautiful,” text message.

It’s a whole different feeling than the sense of dread I would get when Judd would text me. All he would ever text about was when he wanted to complain about something.

Even just thinking about Tanner puts a dopey grin on my face. I haven’t felt this giddy in years.

We text throughout the day off and on when either of us has the time, and after the kids go to bed at night, I call him. We don’t talk about anything too major—just mainly talk about our days and getting to know each other a little better.

It may not sound like much, but I look forward to it every single evening.

I’m a little surprised that we haven’t gotten around to talking about much of the dirty stuff. I’m sure that Tanner is trying to be respectful, but remember that horny feeling that I was having? Talking to him again has only made it worse.

And I still have almost a whole week until he’s back in town.

How ever will I pass the time?

Oh yeah, I have three kids with three very busy schedules.

Tonight, we are at my dad’s house for a cookout. On the weekends, I have the kids, we try to always see my father—even if it’s just for a little while. He lives alone, and I worry about him getting lonely. His grandsons are his world and seeing them always puts a smile on his face.

I watch my kids run around the back yard, playing their own version of football while my dad mans the grill. When I was growing up, my father always made sure my brother and I were taken care of. He made sure we were well-fed and had nice clothes to wear to school, all while doing his best to spend as much time with us as he could. He never acted like we were any type of burden, but it was clear how stressed he always was. He never got to spend much time just being a fun dad, so I really love watching him get to be the best grandpa my boys could ask for.

He piles meat onto the grill, always careful to buy each boy their favorite. One gets chicken wings, one gets steak, and one gets porkchops. I always assure him that they will eat whatever, but he insists that at grandpa’s house, they get their choice of what they want to eat.

My phone vibrates on the picnic table in front of me. When I pick it up, I see that it’s a text from Tanner. I don’t even have to look at it before the smile overtakes my lips. I try to hide it, though, as to not attract attention to myself.

Tanner: Hey babygirl.

I’m loving the new nickname.

I’ve got a couple more hours of work today, but I wanted to let you know I was thinking about you. Can’t wait to talk to you tonight.

---