Elisa smiled. “He’s thrilled.”
“Yes,” Tanner said with a side glance at Troy. “I can see that.”
“Have a good time,” she said, oblivious. “I’ll see you next week.”
And then she drove off.
Next week? Tanner and Sam exchanged WTF looks and then Tanner turned to Troy. “What’s going on?”
“She’s dumped me on you for another week.”
“Works for me,” Tanner said. But if he was getting Troy for another week, it meant Elisa had some sort of ulterior motive. “How did this come about?”
Troy shrugged.
“Words,” Tanner said. “For the love of God, man, use your words. I’m out of practice with the emo shrugging shit.”
“Her boyfriend wants her to go to Catalina Island with him for a week,” Troy said.
That’ll do it.
Sam blew out a breath, looking ticked off into the direction where Elisa’s car had just vanished.
Tanner was ticked off too. Not because he’d have to spend time with the kid. He wanted that. He wanted that more than he wanted his next breath. What he didn’t want was Elisa making Troy feel like an unwanted piece of luggage. He looked at the kid standing there, hands shoved in his pockets, shoulders hunched.
Pissed off at the world.
Yeah. Tanner got that. Hell, he’d been there, done that. He’d been younger when his own dad had walked away and not looked back, but he’d never forgotten that feeling. “You didn’t get dumped on me,” he told Troy.
“You just saw me get dumped here.”
“It’s not being dumped if I want you here.” He looked at his watch.
Troy hunched deeper into his pockets. “I can walk to school.”
“I was looking to see how much time we had. Come on.” Tanner started off toward the dock.
Sam was already ahead of him and hopped on board, heading for the tie-downs.
When Tanner realized Troy wasn’t following, he glanced back. “You coming or not?”
Troy stood there on the docks, jaw locked, face tight. The anger of a full-grown man, the defiance of a teen who needed some guidelines. “For what?” he asked, attitude snapping in each word.
“Two options,” Tanner said. “Consider it a multiple choice. A, you can walk to school, or B, you can drive yourself.”
“Or C,” Sam added. “You can stand there and brood.”
Tanner nodded his approval. True enough.
“Don’t have my permit yet,” Troy said.
“Don’t need a permit for the boat,” Tanner told him.
The kid’s eyes went wide and he forgot to maintain his ’tude. “You’re going to let me drive the boat to school?”
“I’m going to teach you how to drive the boat. It’s not easy,” he warned when Troy forgot to hold on to his bad attitude and whooped. “In fact, it can be dangerous as hell. And it’s going to take a lot more than just this one lesson. It’s going to take dedication and hard work.” Tanner moved to the controls, gesturing Troy close.
When the kid leapt forward, Tanner pointed to all the gauges and levers. “Every single move you make behind the wheel needs to be well thought out and calculated because every move has an effect, one that can’t always be changed—at least not in a timely fashion. You get me?”
Troy looked at the control panel and then out to the horizon in front of them. “You’re telling me not to be hotheaded.”
Tanner nodded. “That’s what I’m telling you. So you in or out?”
“In,” Troy said. “All the way in.”
“Me too,” Tanner said.
Troy turned his head and met his dad’s gaze. A long beat went by, during which time it seemed that Troy was searching for the truth in Tanner’s simple statement.
Tanner waited for it to sink in.
Finally Troy nodded. They were both all the way in. For better or worse.
It was nice but Tanner wasn’t fooled. There would be worse. But they’d handle it. Together. And for the first time he actually believed that there’d be a chance to do just that.
Chapter 18
Callie did her best to distract herself from memories of the most sensuous, erotic night of her life. It wasn’t easy. She had questions. Such as did Tanner have regrets? Did he feel differently about her now that he’d had his merry way with her, several times over?
Work helped. She was on crazy bride alert for several clients and their upcoming weddings. She spent an entire day talking brides off the ledge. One lost her venue to a flood, and Callie had to find another with twenty-four hours’ notice. Another lost her groom to cold feet. Callie had way too much experience there as well.