Chapter Seventeen
Tanner was out in the round pen lunging one of the youngsters on Thursday morning. He looked up when he heard a vehicle approaching the barn. He smiled when he saw that it was Luke’s truck.
His old friend waved as he climbed out of the truck and came to lean on the fence to watch.
“Hey, what are you doing out here?”
“I thought I’d come and check in with you. See how things are going.”
Tanner nodded. “Better than I feared the last time I spoke to you.”
“I’m glad to hear it. What’s going on?”
“I’ve talked to her on the phone the last couple of nights.”
Luke grinned. “Good. I figured when I didn’t hear from you after Monday that your phone call might not have gone well.”
“It went better than I dared to hope. Sorry, I should’ve let you know.”
Luke shrugged. “I came over to say sorry that I didn’t follow up with you.”
Tanner gave him a rueful smile. “No worries. We’re still besties, it’s just that life has this habit of getting in the way.” He chuckled. “In your case, you have Laney to deal with.”
Luke laughed with him. “You know that I have no complaints about that. I figured that things must be going okay with Everly, since Laney stopped threatening to go down to Napa after her.”
“Yeah, most people have their big brother to look out for them, I have my vicious little sister.”
“Hey,” said Luke. “She’s not vicious. More like feisty.”
Tanner laughed. “Whatever you say. So, what’s going on in your world?”
“It’s business as usual for us. It’s kind of quiet at the moment. How about you?” He watched the horse that Tanner was working with move around the pen. “This one’s coming along well.”
“She’s a nice one. Things are quiet around here, too. The new mare’s doing well, after the scare she gave us.”
“That’s good. So, come on. What’s happening with you and Everly?”
Tanner grinned. “It’s weird. After we got off to such a fast start, we’ve slowed things right down. We’re talking on the phone every night and it’s… I like it.”
Luke laughed. “That’s a first for you, isn’t it?”
“It is. I didn’t get it before. Even when Ty first met Shay and he used to run up to his room at night with his phone and a beer, I didn’t understand it. I couldn’t figure out how they had enough to talk about all the time. I get it now.”
“Happy for you. And what about her kid?”
“Ashton. He sounds like a cool little dude. And get this, it turns out that he’s into cowboys.” He laughed. “You know what I mean. Apparently, he’s reading all about Montana and learning about ranching.”
“Because of you?”
“No. He doesn’t even know about me yet. Well, she told him that she met some cowboys while she was here. And get this, she said depending on how today goes, I might get to talk to him tonight. She told him that she has a friend who’s a cowboy.”
“Just a friend?”
“Yeah. She’s not even convinced about me for herself yet, there’s no point in making him think it’s a big deal.”
“But you’re still thinking it’s a big deal, right?”
“I am.”
“And what about Zeke?”
“I went over to Travis’s place on Tuesday to see him. I told you that he apologized, didn’t I?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, after that, I figured that I might as well keep him in the loop. He doesn’t get a say – at least, not as far as I’m concerned. It’s up to Everly how she deals with him. But I decided that I’m going to be straight with him – I told him where we are, and I told him where I hope this is going.”
“And he’s okay with it?”
“He says he is. I really don’t blame him for hating the idea in the beginning.”
“You can see it from his point of view,” said Luke.
“I can. But I’ve been straight with him about how things are for me, and if he doesn’t want to trust me now, that’s his problem.”
“Fair enough. So, you’re all good, then?”
“As good as I can be. I’ll be even better if I can get her back up here.”
“Do you think that you can make it happen?”
He shrugged. “I’m going to do my damnedest.”
“Let me know if I can do anything to help.”
“Thanks.”
“Are you working this weekend?”
“No.”
“No? We were going to come in to see you.”
“I called in and told them that I need the weekend off.”
“Are you planning a trip by any chance?”
He couldn’t hide his smile. “I haven’t made any real plans yet, but I’m hoping. I didn’t want to let Brody down if I came up with something at the last minute. And besides, I don’t remember the last time I took a weekend off.”
“Would you fly down there?”
“I think I’d have to. Ty and I used to drive when we were stationed in Coronado. But it’s a hell of a long way, I’m getting too old for that shit. We used to drive straight through in under twenty-four hours. The last time Ty made the trip, he and Shayna took a few days. I don’t have that kind of time.”
“You should see if Cash is coming home – and ask if you can borrow the plane.”
“That’s not a bad idea. I might just do that. I haven’t spoken to him for a while.”
Luke pulled his phone out of his pocket. “Be right with you; this is Laney.”
Tanner laughed. “You better get it.”
Luke walked away as he talked on the phone. It made Tanner happy that his best friend and sister were together – that they were engaged.
Luke ended the call and came back to join him. “I’m going to have to head back. We just had a feed delivery.”
“Okay. Thanks for coming over. When are you guys getting married?”
Luke laughed. “Where did that come from? We’ve been trying to figure out a date. I think it’ll be in the spring. Why?”
Tanner shrugged. “Just wondering. You guys have been engaged for a while now.”
“Yeah, but we’re not in a big hurry.”
Tanner wanted to ask why, but he knew that Luke needed to go. “You’d best be in a hurry to get back and help her with that delivery,” he said with a laugh.
“You’re not kidding. Don’t be a stranger, okay? Let me know what’s going on with you. And if you are around this weekend, you should come over for a beer or something.”
“Thanks. I’ll let you know when I figure it out.”
After he’d gone, Tanner finished up with the filly he’d been working with and made his way back up to the house.
He didn’t normally come back up here during the day, but it felt like nothing was normal around here anymore.
He made himself a sandwich for lunch and went to sit at the kitchen table. He took his phone out to scroll through his messages with Everly.
She was still off work until the end of the week, and she was trying to get things set up so that she’d have someone to watch Ashton when she went back on Monday.
He wanted to call her now, but he was holding out until later in the hope that she might let Ashton talk to him this time.
Instead of calling her, he selected Cash’s number instead.
“What’s up, Tan?”
“Just checking in.”
Cash’s laugh rumbled through the phone. “Just checking in? You expect me to buy that shit?”
Tanner laughed with him. “Okay then, what do you know? And what do you still need to know?”
“I know it all, you should know that by now.”
“Maybe so, but how?”
“I’m just that good. So, what do you want to tell me? Or is there something you want to ask me?”
“Well, if you already know it all, what do you think?”
“I don’t know what to think yet. I know all the details, what I don’t know is how you feel.”
“I think you do.”
Cash chuckled. “I think so, too, but I don’t know so.”
Tanner swallowed. “Okay, so obviously, I can’t know for sure yet, but from the way I feel right now, she’s it for me.”
“That’s what I thought. So, what are you going to do about it?”
“I’m playing it by ear.”
“And what does that look like?”
“So far, talking on the phone.”
“No plans for you to go down there or her to come back up to the ranch?”
“Not yet. She has to get her life figured out. Her mom was watching Ashton while she worked, but her mom’s gone to Hawaii, and it doesn’t sound like she’ll be back anytime soon, if ever.”
“Wouldn’t it be easier for her to figure things out in a place where her dad and her man could help out with the kid?”
Tanner grinned. “I think so. But I don’t feel like I can push for that.”
“You don’t push.”
“What do I do then?”
“You make it the obvious choice.”
“How do I do that?”
“She was in Montana for an interview in the first place, right?”
“Yeah.”
“So, that means that she was prepared to move for a job. Now, it’d make even more sense for her to move if she had a job, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Jesus, Tan!”
“I’m not stupid. But I can’t exactly conjure up a job for her out of thin air, can I? And besides, that wouldn’t feel right. That’d feel like I was manipulating her into doing what I want.”
“True.” Cash was quiet for a few moments. “I’ll call you back.”
“Okay. Are you busy?”
Cash laughed. “I am. I’m going job hunting. It wouldn’t be right for you to find her a job, but if you happen to hear about one – say, from your big brother – that would be a great fit for her, then you’d be helping her, right?”
Tanner shook his head with a smile. “You’re right.”
“Aren’t I always? Talk to you later.”
~ ~ ~
Everly stood with Grady and Hannah, watching Ashton and Ava walk Scooter, Ava’s dog, back up the long driveway that ran through the estate. All the other kids had gone home half an hour ago, but Ava had begged for Ashton to be allowed to stay a little longer to take Scooter on his walk.
Grady slung his arm around Everly’s shoulders. “So, what’s the news from your mom? Have you figured out what you’re going to do?”
“I haven’t spoken to her. She’s been texting when she can. It sounds like they’re crazy busy making arrangements for the funeral.”
“And they don’t plan to come back?” Hannah asked.
“If they do, it’ll only be to sell the house.”
“And you’re not going to follow them?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Well, you know that we’ll always help out with Ashton if you need us,” said Hannah. “In fact, we should make sure that we get Slade added to the list of people who can pick him up. Usually it’s one of us, but Slade ends up being the one to pick Ava up at least once a week.”
“No. I couldn’t ask him. It’s good enough of you guys…”
Grady laughed. “I’ll ask him. You’ve got no worries. If it were up to him, he’d collect Ava from school every day – and he loves Ashton. He and Willow were here earlier, and he and Ashton were having a good old chat about something.”
“Well, if he wouldn’t mind, it’d probably be a good idea. I talked to Mel, and she’s going to help out as much as she can. It should be fine, but the more options we have if we’re in a pinch…”
“We’ll have a word with him, don’t worry.”
“Thanks.”
Hannah linked her arm through Everly’s as they watched the kids get closer. “You’re most welcome. Those two are so close, and they’re good for each other.”
Everly nodded. “They are, there’s no doubt about it. Ashton’s friendly with a few of the boys in their class, but I think he’s closest to Ava.”
“I know Ava feels that way,” said Hannah. “And you can laugh at me if you like, but it wouldn’t surprise me if we’re all family one day.”
“What do you mean?” Everly asked.
Grady chuckled. “Hannah’s a romantic at heart; she has it in her head that Ava and Ashton might end up together someday.”
Everly raised her eyebrows. “Wow! I… Damn, Hannah! I can’t even think about it. I mean, of course, I hope that he’ll meet a wonderful girl when he grows up – and it’d be awesome if that girl were Ava. But…” She shuddered. “I can’t think about them growing up just yet.”
Hannah laughed. “You’re right. We don’t need to think about it yet.” She checked her watch. “We do need to think about getting Miss Ava bathed and into bed, though.”
“And we need to think about getting home,” Everly raised her voice now that Ashton and Ava were within earshot.
“Do we have to?” he asked.
“We do. It’s almost bedtime.”
She exchanged a smile with Grady and Hannah while Ashton and Ava hugged.
“Come on, pixie, let’s get you ready for bed,” said Hannah.
Just as Everly and Ashton reached the car, Grady called, “Hang on a minute, Ev. I boxed you up some goodies to take home. They’re in the kitchen.”
Ashton got in the car while Everly followed Grady back inside the house. “I’ll be right there,” she told him.
~ ~ ~
Tanner rinsed his plate in the sink before putting it in the dishwasher. Now that Ty – the chef in the family – didn’t live in the big house anymore, Tanner was doing more cooking and was surprised to find that he enjoyed it. Ford was still out with the herd, and Tanner had made him a plate and left it in the fridge, ready for him to nuke in the microwave whenever he came in.
He wandered into the living room and turned on the TV. He didn’t usually watch much TV, but it was Monday night, so he planned to keep himself busy watching a game until he heard from Everly.
As if the thought of her had summoned her, his phone rang, and he grinned when he saw her name on the screen.
“Hey, darlin’! This is a nice surprise.” He frowned when she didn’t reply immediately. “Are you there? Can you hear me?”
His frown grew deeper as the silence lengthened. Well, it wasn’t total silence; he could hear her breathing. At least, he could hear someone breathing.
“Hello?”
“Are you my mom’s boyfriend?” a little voice asked.
“Is this Ashton?”
“I asked first.”
That made Tanner laugh. “You sure did, buddy.”
“So, are you?”
Tanner’s mind raced. Of course, he wanted to say that yes, he was. But for one thing, he didn’t know if Everly even thought of him that way. And for another, he didn’t know how she’d want to address it with her son. Since he couldn’t speak for her, but he wanted to be as honest as possible with the kid, he went with, “I want to be.”
“But you’re not yet?”
“Honestly? I don’t know.”
“Why not?”
“Because I don’t know how she sees it and I don’t know how you would feel about it.”
“She’s the one who gets to decide.”
“I know, but what you think matters, too.”
Ashton was quiet for a moment. “Are you a real cowboy?”
“I live on a ranch – grew up on a ranch. We raise cattle, although I do more with horses these days. And yeah… I’m a real cowboy.”
“Then I’m okay with you being her boyfriend.”
Tanner smiled to himself. “Mind if I ask why?”
“Because I read the cowboy code in a book – so I know, if you’re a real cowboy, then you have to be good to her.”
A dozen thoughts raced through Tanner’s mind. He wanted to ask what exactly this code said – he was aware of at least half a dozen versions of a cowboy code. But he knew that right now, it was more important to answer Ashton’s questions than his own.
“I give you my word, if she lets me be her boyfriend, I’ll be good to her – and to you.”
“Okay.”
“Does she know that you called me?”
Ashton’s little chuckle made Tanner grin like an idiot. He had a feeling that the two of them would get along just fine. “No. She went back in the house with Grady and Hannah to get something. When I got in the car, I saw her phone. I know you talk to her at night; I wanted to talk to you, too.”
“I’ve been wanting to talk to you as well. Your mom told me that you’re curious about cowboys. She said that maybe we could talk tonight.”
“She’s coming back out now. I’ve got to go. You should ask her if you can talk to me later.”
“You should tell her that you called me, bud.”
Ashton laughed again, and the sound of it made Tanner laugh with him. “Maybe. Bye.”
The call ended, and Tanner sat there grinning at his phone. He’d wanted to talk to the kid, been looking forward to it, even if he’d felt a bit nervous. Ashton had caught him off guard, but he reckoned that their first conversation had gone pretty well. Now, his only problem was not knowing if Ashton would come clean with his mom, or not.