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“I am not being difficult! You’re lucky I’m even entertaining this conversation after the way you acted yesterday!” I paused, awaiting his response. “Hello?”
Mallory chuckled as we walked through the doors of our building.
“He hung up on me!”
“I heard.”
“What arrogance! He thinks he can just summon me to the shop after being rude to me. Did I tell you how rude he was yesterday?”
“You did. Several times.”
“So rude! He’s got another thing coming if he thinks I’m going to see him later.” We took our seats. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“If he’s rude and arrogant, then don’t go by the shop later.”
“Oh, I won’t.”
“Good. Forget about him.”
“Already forgotten.” I opened my spiral notebook and wrote the date on top of the blank paper, preparing for the next hour. My heart beat rapidly, and I tried to slow my breaths. I took a swig of water from my bottle, hoping the cool liquid would soothe the heat inside me. I had to stop letting Tanner get under my skin.
Still, I couldn’t shake the feeling in my gut as I drove past Tanner’s shop later that evening. At the corner of the street, I stopped at a red light and stared at the shop in my rearview mirror. When this light turns green, you are going to continue driving straight.
The light turned green. I took a deep breath and quickly jerked the car to the right, turning down a side street. I drove around the block and pulled in when I came back around to the front of the shop. Tanner’s Mustang was the only car left in the lot.
Tanner was behind the counter when I walked inside. His raised brows and open mouth told me he didn’t expect me to show. Why did that make me feel bad?
I propped my hand on my hip. “Well, let’s hear it.”
“Hello to you, too.”
I glared at him, refusing to let him break me.
He stood and walked past me to the door I had just entered through. “Come on.”
“Where are we going?”
“For a drive.” He held the door open, waiting for me to follow.
“I don’t want to go for a drive. You told me to come by the shop, and I did.”
“Why did you?”
Because I’m an idiot. “I want an explanation for yesterday. Then I’m leaving.”
His large hand wrapped around mine, and he gently tugged until I was standing outside. “Just get in the car, please.” He gestured to his Mustang. “I’ll drive.”
I let out a sigh as I opened the passenger door and sat. We were on the road for several minutes before either of us spoke. I watched the turns Tanner made until we arrived at a playground outside an elementary school building. Tanner swung open his car door and motioned for me to follow.
I followed him onto the empty playground. He sat on a swing and waited for me to take the one beside him.
“I was being genuine with you when we were driving around yesterday,” he said. “But when you went inside to get your money, my mom texted me. My dad is … he’s sick. They were on their way home from the doctor, and they didn’t exactly get good news. It put me in a mood.”
“What’s wrong with your dad?”
“He has cancer. The doctor said treatments aren’t working.”
My heart wrenched. “I am so sorry.”
