Time and Time Again(7)

“Take a seat,” he says, pointing to one of the chairs at the dining table. I sit down and wait as he brings me a plate and sets the dishes in the centre. I wait until he begins dishing out mashed potatoes on his own plate before I start to serve my own.

“Do your parents know you were about to get evicted?” he asks, still looking at his plate.

I shift on my chair. “No. I don’t talk to them much.”

Although they try and call me every other day.

“Why not?” he asks, now loading chicken onto his plate. “If they knew and didn’t care, I’d be fuckin’ pissed.”

Inwardly cringing, I tell him as little as I can get away with. “I didn’t leave on the best terms with them.”

Understatement of the year.

I always thought I had the perfect family—loving parents who always spent time with me and gave me everything I needed and wanted. They doted on me, or so I thought. Really, I was only seeing what I wanted to see, and when I found out the truth, it hit me hard.

Tag nods his head, lifting his fork to his mouth.

I do the same.

Chewing slowly, he studies me with an intensity that makes me want to squirm. “You ever need anything, you call me, okay? Right away. If I didn’t walk you to your door tonight, you would have hidden this, wouldn’t you?”

I shrug my shoulders.

“So damn stubborn,” he grumbles, shaking his head. “Thanks to that stuffed unicorn, you now don’t have to worry about not having a place to say.”

My lip twitches at that. It’s true. If he didn’t insist on carrying that unicorn to my door, he never would have seen the notice, and I never would have told him or anyone else about it.

“Thank you,” I reply quietly, letting my tone speak my gratefulness.

Tag shrugs it off. “Anytime. I’ll ask Ryan and Reid if you can start at nine thirty instead of nine. That way, I can drop Isabella at school then bring you to work with me.”

“Will they be okay with that?” I ask, frowning. “It’s a little too early in my employment to be asking for favours, isn’t it?”

Tag chuckles. “They’re my friends. Trust me, it won’t be an issue.”

I arch a brow. “How long have you been friends for?”

“Years. Forever.”

“Sounds nice.”

We finish the meal in comfortable silence, and then I help Tag to clean up. Side by side, we stand at the sink. I wash, and he dries.

“Could you wash any slower?” he teases, holding the tea towel in his hand, waiting.

I splash him with a little water. “If I do it faster, they won’t be washed properly.”

“We should watch a movie after this,” he says. “Or are you going to bed?”

I think it over. “A movie sounds good.”

Even though I will probably fall asleep during it.

We finish up in the kitchen and move to the lounge room. Tag sits on the right side of the couch, one hand bent, resting on his bald head.

“Why do you shave your head?” I blurt out, curious.

He looks down at me, amusement written all over his expression. “You don’t think it’s hot?”

That was beside the point.

“It suits you,” I admit. “I like the goatee too.”

His shoulder shake as he laughs. “Glad you approve, Clara. I did a couple years in the army, and it kind of stuck.”

My eyes widen. “Really?”

He nods, looking back to the TV. “Really.”

My phone rings, and I know from the ring tone that it’s my mother.

“You going to answer that?” he asks.

I shake my head from side to side. “No.”

“Why not?”

“It’s my mother, and I don’t want to talk to her.”

He stays silent for a few moments. “You could always tell me, you know. I’m a good listener.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” I murmur, snuggling up against the couch.

*****

I must have fallen asleep because I wake up in Tag’s arms.

“Shhh,” he whispers, laying me down on the bed. “Goodnight, Clara.”

“Night Tag,” I mumble, keeping my gaze on him as he leaves the room, closing the door behind him.

Just who is Tag?

To me, he is perfect.

*****

Isabella is adorable.

“You’re pretty,” she says, sounding like she approves. “Can I do something cool to your hair?”

I turn around and smile at her as she sits in her car seat in the back of Tag’s car. “Sure you can.”

“Daddy! See! Did you hear?” she calls out excitedly.

“I heard, Princess,” Tag replies, turning his head to me and smiling. “She will hold you to that.”