Once a Family

by Tara Taylor Quinn

“It didn’t happen at The Stand.”

  “You swore to me that she wouldn’t leave there without my permission.” There wasn’t accusation in his tone. Yet.

  “She didn’t.”

  “You’re telling me this happened at school?” Both hands by his sides, he watched her as though she was a fly and he had the swatter.

  “During school hours, yes.” She’d do this his way. Answer his questions as he asked them. Feed him what he determined he could handle, when he was ready for it. She’d have done anything to ease the burden from this man who’d lain so tenderly in her bed the night before.

  “She was raped at school?”

  Sedona bit her lip. “It wasn’t rape. The tearing indicates roughness, but not rape.”

  “Who was it?”

  “Del Harcourt.”

  He turned his back to her and faced the house.

  “He’s been seeing her at lunch, sneaking over to her school.”

  She waited for a response that didn’t come.

  “Someone had told Del that she hadn’t been feeling well, that she’d missed class a few times. He talked her into missing class again.”

  “When?”

  “A week ago Monday and then again Thursday.”

  There was no way any of them could have known. Nothing he could have done differently if Tatum had been at home with him. They’d thought they had all their bases covered.

  “How is she?”

  “Okay. She was scared, I think, but we talked. She asked me to stay with her while Lynn examined her, so I did. She was better when I dropped her off.”

  His silence was what she’d dreaded most.

  “I’m going to ask you to promise me that you’ll leave her at The Stand, Tanner. At least for a little bit longer.”

  He didn’t respond. Or turn. So she walked around to face him. “She’s not going to be able to see Harcourt next week because of finals. And after that she’ll be at The Stand full-time. She knows she won’t be able to see him at all then. She seemed truly okay with that, Tanner. I don’t know what to make of that, but I think it’s good. Maybe having sex with him has made her think twice about how much she loves him. Clearly the experience wasn’t a good one for her. But what I do know is that as long as she’s with us, he’s not going to get near her.”

  And if the creep was the one abusing Tatum, which Sedona strongly suspected at this point, she’d do whatever it took to be able to prove that.

  Rough consensual sex among minors over fourteen wasn’t a crime. But it could very easily be a factor in one.

  “Please? Give me a chance to get something solid on this guy? In the meantime, Sara will be having daily sessions with her.”

  He looked down at her and she had no idea what he was thinking.

  “Fine.”

  His concession was a shock.

  A huge one.

  For the first time all day, Sedona felt a surge of hope.

  * * *

  SEDONA STAYED A bit longer. They’d done something he’d sworn to himself they weren’t going to do again. At least not until Tatum was home and well.

  He wasn’t proud of himself.

  She hadn’t seemed all that happy about their lovemaking, either.

  She’d dressed quietly, left without a word.

  And Tanner set to work cleaning the house. From top to bottom. He hauled the sheets off Tatum’s bed, and washed them, putting extra softener in. When they were dry, he made it again.

  He did the same for Talia’s bed.

  And his own.

  He vacuumed and dusted and scoured the upstairs bathroom. Then repeated the process for the half bath downstairs.

  Giving Tatum a chance to call him, he watched the clock. And when dinner hour at the shelter had passed, when it was nearly time for his little sister to turn in so she’d be rested for exams the next day, he dialed her number.

  She’d promised Sedona she’d pick up when he called. But that had been in another lifetime.

  “Hello?”

  “Hi, sweetie, how are you doing?” He wanted to be angry with her. But couldn’t find it in him. She thought she was in love. Believed this guy loved her. And so many girls her age were having sex these days.

  He didn’t like it. Didn’t approve. Didn’t want it for her.

  “Okay.”

  “Good. I just wanted to tell you you’ll do fine tomorrow and to get some rest.” He’d see her again in the morning.

  “Thanks.”

  It was the first actual conversation they’d had in weeks. And he could hardly think of a thing to say.

  But he knew what he was going to do.

  “You’re sure you’re okay?”

  “Yeah.”

  He just couldn’t leave it at that. Tatum was hurting and needed to know she was loved.

  “I talked to Sedona.”

  “She told you?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I know you’re pissed.”

  “Not at you.”

  “I’m sorry...” Tatum’s voice broke and so did a part of Tanner’s heart.

  “I know, sweetie. I just want you to know that I love you.”

  “I love you, too.”

  “’Kay, get some sleep now, promise?”

  “Yeah.”

  She hung up and Tanner sat on the stairs, elbows on his knees, and stared into the darkness.

  * * *

  THINGS DIDN’T GO so well the next day. It started with a letter from the detective he’d hired to find Tammy.

  The woman had passed away the year before of a drug overdose. He wanted to feel something. A sense of loss. Or maybe even relief. He felt nothing. He asked about her burial and was told she’d been cremated.

  He didn’t feel much about that, either. The woman had been dead to them for so long that any mourning he might have done had already happened. Back when he’d still been naive enough to hope she’d change, only to have her disappoint him again and again.

  He called Thomas and left a message, telling him what he’d found out. And only afterward did it even occur to him that leaving a voice mail message might have been a little cold. Thomas might still feel something where Tammy was concerned. So he called back and left a second message. And when he called Talia, he was more mindful that she might have some feelings regarding their mother’s passing.

  “I’m actually glad,” she said, her voice soft, but not the least bit upset. “We don’t have to look over our shoulders anymore, you know? Fearing she might show up.”

  “I tried to shield you from that.”

  “You did shield us. But that doesn’t mean I didn’t worry about it.”

  There was silence for a minute while Tanner tried to figure out what to say.

  “At least she’s at peace,” Talia said. And something inside Tanner settled. Living with Tammy was over. She was at peace. And somehow her peace became his.

  * * *

  TATUM NOTICED THE box of things in Tanner’s truck when he picked her up after her last exam of the day.

  “What’s that?” she asked, her face twisted with horror.

  He’d already experienced the disapproval of Lila, Lynn and Sara. And was sure Sedona would have her say, too, when she had her chance with him.

  “Your things. I stopped by the shelter to pick them up before coming here.”

  Standing with one foot in the truck and the other still on the ground, she looked from the backseat to him. “So they know?”

  “Yes.”

  Someone called out to her and Tatum turned, gave a weak wave and then got in the truck, yanking the door closed behind her.

  “Go,” she said through gritted teeth.

  Understanding that she
didn’t want to cause a scene in front of her classmates, Tanner pulled away from the curb and slid into traffic.

  “Sedona’s a part of this, then?”

  He regretted the disappointment he heard in Tatum’s tone but couldn’t do anything about it at that point.

  “No, she’s not. I haven’t spoken with her. But I suspect someone at the shelter has called her by now. If you look at your phone you’ve probably got a missed call from her.”

  He’d had three. In the past fifteen minutes.

  Pulling out her little flip phone, Tatum clicked it on and waited for it to boot up.

  “I can’t believe you’re doing this.” Her disgust was evident.

  “It’s something I should’ve done weeks ago,” he said. “It’s been weeks and we’re no closer to solving our problems. Because we aren’t even working on them. All we’ve done is let you run away from the whole situation. And that’s creating more problems. It’s time to fix them. Before you get hurt any more.”

  “You’re the only one who’s hurt me.”

  It was on the tip of his tongue to remind her of the trip to the clinic she’d had the day before. But he didn’t.

  “We’re going to talk about that, sweetie. And this time, I give you my word, I’m going to listen. Really listen. I’m bringing you home, because it’s your space, too. But things are going to change from here on in.”

  “I’ll bet they are.”

  “I give you my word, Tatum.”

  He’d spoken sternly. And she looked over at him.

  “I’ve made mistakes,” he said. “If you’ll work with me here, I’ll do my best to correct them.”

  “Right. Like giving me my phone back?”

  “It’s in the glove box. Charged and ready to go.”

  Her fingers shot out so fast he would have smiled if smiling had been appropriate. Within seconds she had the phone on and was typing in her secret passcode to access her private information.

  And the rest of the ride home her thumbs flew over the on-screen keyboard.

  He hoped to God she hadn’t been texting Del Harcourt, but he was fairly certain she had been.

  It was all in the plan. He was going to help the guy hang himself. While he figured out how to give Tatum more freedom and keep her safe at the same time.

  * * *

  “I DON’T UNDERSTAND.” Sitting in Sara’s little office with Lila and the counselor, Sedona shook her head. “He agreed to leave her here. Did he say anything?”

  Had he given any indication that something had changed since she’d left the man’s bed the afternoon before? She hadn’t planned to sleep with him again. But after they’d planted the flowers she hadn’t been able to just leave him there alone. She’d put her arms around him, intending to offer comfort.

  And somehow they’d ended up in his room.

  “He called me,” Lila said. “Asked me to gather her things and have them ready. I did so. What choice did I have? He’s her guardian and our agreement stated that he could take her anytime he deemed it necessary.”

  It had. But that was not the agreement he’d made with her, just the day before.

  “I called Sara and she was with me when he arrived. We both tried to talk to him, but he wasn’t having any of it.”

  “It was odd,” Sara spoke up. “If I hadn’t known differently, I’d have thought we were doing a normal move out. He was pleasant. Polite. But uninterested in conversation of any kind.”

  Looking from one woman to the other, Sedona’s heart sank. She’d trusted him.

  He hadn’t trusted her.

  Because Tanner Malone didn’t trust anyone.

  She’d had plenty of warning. Knew that the chances of him changing hadn’t been good. Tanner’s developmental environment had taught him not to trust people as a safety measure. A survival tool.

  She understood the psychology of it all.

  And she’d listened to her heart, anyway.

  “I offered to continue to see Tatum on an outpatient basis,” Sara added.

  She latched on to the news with a last ray of hope. “What did he say?”

  “Thank you.”

  “Was it an acceptance thank-you or...”

  “It was just a thank-you. I have no idea what it meant.”

  With a request to be kept informed if anything else transpired, Sedona left The Stand.

  When Lila had first called to let her know what had happened, she’d thought that the managing director had misunderstood. She’d tried contacting Tanner repeatedly, hoped to be able to change his mind. And after Lila had phoned to say he’d been there and gone, she’d tried again, repeatedly, in between court sessions.

  She didn’t know what he was going to do about Harcourt. Or if she was expected to continue to try to prove that the boy had been abusive toward Tatum.

  She didn’t know anything other than the fact that he wasn’t speaking to her.

  And that when he’d given her his word the day before, he’d lied.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  TATUM WENT STRAIGHT UP to her room when they got home. He’d planned for them to sit down over the brownies he’d made that morning—her favorite—and a glass of milk and make a new plan for the next three years.

  To set ground rules. Hers, that he was going to have to follow to keep her happy.

  And his, the ones he would expect her to respect.

  Thomas was who he was, at least in part, because of Tanner’s expectations. They had been in touch several times over the past twenty-four hours, and his little brother had reminded him of that fact every chance he got.

  He’d do Tatum as much disservice by spoiling her and giving her everything she wanted, as he would by being too strict and hardheaded. His job was to find the right balance.

  He’d kind of been hoping she was going to help with that.

  He also had to tell her that Tammy was gone.

  He ordered pizza for dinner. It was easy and she liked it. When it arrived, he climbed the stairs and tapped on her door.

  “What?”

  “Dinner’s here.”

  She didn’t respond. Turning, Tanner descended the stairs as quietly as he’d climbed them, set the table with paper plates and napkins, poured two glasses of tea and sat down to eat.

  Five minutes into the meal, Tatum slid into her chair. She asked what kind of pizza he’d ordered.

  The same kind they’d always ordered, ham with onion and tomato.

  Taking a big gulp of tea, the sun-brewed kind she liked best, Tatum helped herself to a couple of pieces of pizza and, napkin on her lap, started to eat.

  Like she’d always done.

  Almost as if she’d never left.

  “Talia’s coming home.”

  Tatum swallowed and held her slice of pizza aloft. “Why?”

  “To live.”

  “You’re kidding.”

  “Nope.”

  “What did you do to her?”

  What had he done to her?

  “I didn’t do anything to her,” he said calmly, when he felt like hollering. “She’s been going to college part-time. She did some checking and found out that she could graduate in half the time if she didn’t have to pay living expenses,” he explained. “She found out that she could transfer to UC without losing any credits and asked me if she could live here free of charge. So, she’s coming home.”

  Tatum took a bite of her pizza.

  “I thought you’d be glad.”

  “Why’d you think that?”

  She was being a bit of a brat. But she was home, at the dinner table, eating with him. That miracle would carry him through.

  “Because I thought you loved talking to her.”

  “That
was before she was in cahoots with you. Now she’ll just spout out whatever you tell her to.”

  “Tatum! That’s not fair. To your sister or to me.”

  “It’s true, though,” she said softly, lowering her chin.

  Like someone who was afraid of retribution.

  “If she’s coming home it’s because you bought her off.”

  This bratty girl wasn’t his sister. What the hell had happened to the sweet young woman he’d raised?

  And that’s when he remembered the GED application. With everything that had gone on that weekend, he’d forgotten that Tatum didn’t trust him to be straight up with her about anything.

  He forgot that not only were they dealing with rough sex and a potentially abusive boyfriend, his sister felt as though he’d betrayed her, too.

  “I am not buying your sister off nor is she in my pocket,” he said, choosing to deal with one thing at a time. “You of all people should know that Talia has a mind of her own where I’m concerned.”

  “Then why did she change her number and stop talking to me when you told her to?”

  “I did not tell her to, exactly. When she found out that I was unaware that you two were talking, she realized that you were putting more trust in her than you were in me. And she didn’t want to be the example you followed. Not until she’d made her life right. Her words, not mine.”

  Tatum’s frown wasn’t reassuring.

  “You’re there for people until they make a choice you don’t like and then you’re done.”

  Where was all this coming from? He wasn’t hungry, but he kept eating. Chewing. At least she was home. Even better, she was talking to him.

  “Why do you say that?” he asked. He couldn’t help until he understood the problem. Or so he told himself.

  In reality, he had no idea what to say. How to handle the situation.

  “Thomas left and hasn’t been back once. I don’t even know what he looks like anymore. And when you call, he hardly ever answers and doesn’t call you back.”

  “Thomas had some issues of his own to deal with,” he said. “I think it would be best if he told you about them.”

  “Yeah, right. Like we ever have a conversation.”

  “He wants us to come to New York this summer. We’ll be staying with him. He wants to take you to the museums and the Empire State Building and the Statue of Liberty.”