28. Tyler #3
“Cooking?” he asks and looks at me. “I would have accepted hiking, climbing, or playing guitar.”
“Well, Tyler loves all those things, but whenever I see a twinkle in his eye, it’s when he’s cooking and trying new recipes.
He has a book from his mom that he likes to follow along with.
I started making a minestrone from the recipe book, which is probably bubbling over now!
” Chloe realizes, jumping out of her seat and scurrying to the kitchen.
“She’s great,” Griff says and nods to me, pocketing his phone.
“I can’t believe you actually wrote out questions.”
“I want to make sure my best friends have good people in their lives.”
“Did you do this to Alyssa?”
“I tried, and then she nearly bit my head off. Which meant she was perfect for Miles.”
“Well, whenever you have a lady in your life, we’ll be sure to interrogate her.”
“I wouldn’t expect anything less from you all.”
Chloe joins us back at the table. “Griffin, show Tyler the social media posts we worked on.” Chloe points at his phone, which he picks up, tapping the screen a few times, then shows to me.
I take it and swipe through photos. It starts out as a sky, then the arrow guides you to swipe, revealing the side of a mountain, and finally, the last photo is an incredible shot of Griff climbing free solo along the rock face.
He’s wearing a pair of shorts printed with a sponsor’s logo.
“This is insanely cool. You guys did this in time before I got here?”
Chloe nods excitedly, and Griff says, “It was all Chloe. Seriously, I feel like a caveman when it comes to tech.”
“Griffin said he’s having trouble with his sponsors and might lose some because he isn’t posting enough, so I was telling him about my social media work at the shelter, showed him examples and offered to give him pointers.”
“I also offered her a job as my manager, which she said yes to.”
“You’re just throwing out job offers like they are free candy on Halloween.” I laugh. “Wait, what?”
“What did he offer you?” Chloe asks, but doesn’t answer my question.
“If you can convince him to come on the road with me and be my personal trainer and PT, I’ll give you a raise right now.”
Chloe looks at me with wide eyes.
“Wait, wait. Chloe? You said yes to Griff’s job offer?”
“Yeah, why not? I can be his manager from anywhere, and with my experience helping the bookstore and the animal shelter, I think I can help Griffin with some marketing magic. Plus it wouldn’t take up all my time. I think it sounds like a great opportunity.”
“And we could really make a great team with you on board, too, Ty,” Griff says, clasping his hands, begging.
“So you two were plotting before I got here?”
“We’ll let you know, Griffin,” Chloe says to him and gives me a reassuring nod.
She gets up to pour the soup into bowls as Griff and I discuss mountains he wants to climb and stretches I’ve been reading about.
He hurt his shoulder a little while ago and has come to me to get it rehabbed.
It would be great to be with him on his climbs, even partner with him on a few of them.
But to be his trainer and PT? I’d have to give it some serious thought.
“I can imagine it might be hard to leave this place, but I’m never traveling constantly.
There are plenty of breaks throughout the year so that you can come back home,” Griff says as I show him to the guest room, which was my old bedroom.
Chloe has helped me a lot with redecorating the house so it doesn't feel like it’s stuck in a time capsule.
For so long, I kept everything as it was when I returned a few years ago because I thought it was what kept my parents alive.
But, as time goes on and as I’ve grown with my grief, I’ve realized that they are with me everywhere.
No object or room will bring them back. It’s the hardest thing I’ve discovered, but it’s given me some peace knowing I can change how the house looks without erasing their presence.
Griffin is right, it would be hard to leave Auburn Hills, but it also feels like it could be the right move. And I have this woman, filled with life and warmth, who is encouraging me to go after it and will even join me on the journey. It’s hard to turn down an offer like that.
“Just so you’ll sleep soundly tonight, I’m leaning towards yes, but I will need to tie up some loose ends here at the ranch and at work before I can take off.”
“Take your time, man. I don’t start the next season for a couple of months. Regardless, it would be an honor to have you on my team.” Griff pulls me into a big hug and retires for the night.
As I exit the back door, walking toward the cottage, for the first time in a while, it seems like things are working out for me.
The start of a life with Chloe, surrounded by more of my best friends.
It feels like pieces of my broken heart are finally falling together.
And as I approach the front door, I glimpse at my reflection I see the smile on my face looking back.