“I don’t think I’m ready to deal with this. Not tonight.”
“As I said before, you don’t have to. You can take all the time you want. As for meeting your half-sister, take your time on that, too.”
“She wants to meet me. He said she’s excited to have family. I guess she and her mom didn’t have many relatives around so she’s happy about getting a sister.”
“Don’t let someone else’s wants blind you to what it is that you need. If you need time, don’t be bulldozed into a meeting.”
Maddie fell back on the mattress, her arms spread wide. “I don’t think I’m going to get any sleep tonight.”
Tanner had an idea. She needed a distraction.
“Give me twenty minutes,” he said. “Change back into clothes, pack a small bag, and be ready to go.”
“Go?” she echoed. “Go where?”
“If I tell you, it won’t be a surprise.”
“Am I going to like it?”
“I wouldn’t do it if I thought you were going to hate it.”
She levered up from the bed. “Good point. But you know how I am about surprises.”
“I do,” he confirmed. “You’re firmly in the okay-but-unsure category. After all of these years together, I hope you trust me.”
“Are we going to end up in Vegas? Because I’ll need to pack for that.”
He couldn’t help but chuckle at her guarded expression. Leave it to Maddie to think that Las Vegas was some sort of punishment, not fun.
“Do you want to go to Vegas? That wasn’t the destination that I had in mind, but I can be persuaded to buy two plane tickets. Just say the word.”
“You’d do it, too.”
“Hell, yes. Are you saying you want to go?”
“I’m not sure. Is Paris on my list of options?”
“Maddie, when was the last time I said ‘no’ to you?”
“Last week when I said we should trade in your old pickup truck.”
“I only said no because that truck is a classic. They don’t make them like that anymore.”
“And for good reason. It’s a death trap.”
It was far from it, but he could admit that the truck had seen better years. He, however, loved it. It reminded him of when life was a hell of a lot simpler, back when he was just the sheriff of a sleepy little Montana town.
So much had changed since then.
“I’m going to let that remark pass because I know that you have issues about my truck.”
“If you won’t get rid of the truck, can we talk about that old brown sweater with the holes in it?”
She was always trying to throw it out, but he always caught it before it made it to the curb.
“That’s my favorite sweater.”
“It’s the color of poop, Tanner.”
“It’s a warm golden brown.”
“It’s like a fuzzy turd. And it has holes in it.”
“I’m going to let that remark go, too. Now let’s get going. The sooner we get on the road, the sooner we get to our destination.”
If Maddie needed a distraction, he was here to deliver. Maybe someday she’d be excited about spontaneity. For now, he’d accept cautiously optimistic.