Chapter Eighteen
“What are you up to, young man?” Everly asked.
“Nothing.”
She could tell from Ashton’s sly little smile that he was most definitely up to something. “Come on, please tell me. We had a great time at Ava’s this evening, let’s not spoil it by keeping secrets.”
They were almost back to her mom’s house. When they got there, it’d be time for him to get ready for bed. She wanted him to come clean about whatever it was as quickly as possible.
“It’s nothing bad.”
She glanced over at him. “So why not tell me?”
He shrugged. “Because you might be mad.”
“Why would I be mad if it’s nothing bad?”
“Because you’re a poet?”
She made a face at him. “If you really don’t want to tell me, and you promise that it’s nothing bad, I’ll let it go.”
He turned to stare out the window, and she waited. A few minutes later, they arrived back at her mom’s place. She was disappointed that he didn’t want to share, but at the same time, she didn’t want him to feel like she was being too intrusive. For all she knew, he had some little secret with Ava.
She unlocked the front door and let him go in ahead of her. He was a good kid. She should probably let it go.
He carried two of the Tupperware boxes that Grady had loaded them up with into the kitchen and put them in the fridge before dumping his backpack by the door.
Then, he came to her and wrapped his arms around her waist. She ruffled his hair as she looked down into his eyes.
“Did you have a good time?”
“I did. It was good. Ava’s so lucky.”
“In what way?” She had to ask, but she was hoping that he wasn’t going to say that he wanted a dog. Scooter was great; he was a Dalmatian that Hannah had rescued from the shelter as a puppy. Ashton loved to play with him when they went over there, but there was no way that they could have a dog of their own.
She was so caught up in feeling guilty that he couldn’t have a pet, that his next words took her completely by surprise.
“You know – how they’re a real family now. When they used to live near us, she only had Grady, like I only have you. Now, they have Hannah, and Scooter, and she has a whole bunch of aunties and uncles.”
All she could do was stare down into his eyes. She’d known when he was a baby that life might be lonely for him. She was an only child and given that his father didn’t want to be part of his life, she and her mom were all he had.
He looked much older than his years as he looked back up at her. “So, that thing I did?”
She raised her eyebrows and waited.
“I called Tanner and talked to him.”
“You did? When? How?”
He shrugged and let go of her. Climbing up onto one of the stools at the kitchen counter, he said, “When you went back into the house with Grady. Your phone was in the car. So, I called him.”
Her heart pounded. “Why? What did you…?”
“I know that you talk to him at night after I go to bed. You said that he’s your friend, but it sounds more like he’s your boyfriend. So, I called him to ask.”
She went to sit on the stool next to him, not at all sure how to handle this. “And what did he say?”
His smile was back. “He said that he wants to be your boyfriend, but he doesn’t know if you want him to be, or if I do. I told him that I do.”
She was still struggling to take this in. “You do? You don’t even know him.”
“He’s a cowboy.”
Her heart sank. “I know, but you need to know more about him than that.”
“If he is your boyfriend, then I’ll get to know him. And he promised that he’d be good to you, and to me.”
That made her smile. She’d been so concerned with what had prompted Ashton to make the call, that it had only just occurred to her to wonder how Tanner might have felt about it. She should’ve known; he’d gone out of his way to reassure her that he wanted to get to know Ashton, and that he’d be good to him.
“So, can we call him before I have to go to bed? You said I could maybe talk to him tonight.”
She had to laugh. “I did, but you already have.”
He smiled. “Yeah, but that was just between him and me. Can we?”
She shook her head at him. “Okay, but not for long.”
He gave her a cheeky smile. “Where’s your phone then?”
She frowned as she reached for her purse, but he laughed as he held up her phone. “I kept it. Can I call him?”
She smiled through pursed lips. “Okay, but put him on speaker.”
They smiled at each other as they listened to it ring.
When Tanner answered with a, “Hello?” she knew that he was wary if it might be Ashton calling again. He usually answered with, “Hello, darlin’.”
She laughed. “Hey. You’re on speaker with Ashton and me.”
She could hear the smile in his voice as he said, “Well, hello there.”
“Hi, Tanner. It’s okay, I told her that I called you.”
“Good. How are you guys doing? Are you home now?”
“We are,” said Everly. “I understand that this young man put you on the spot earlier.”
“I wouldn’t put it that way. He wanted to talk to me man-to-man, that’s all.”
Everly’s heart felt as though it melted in her chest when she saw the smile that Tanner’s words put on her son’s face.
“And I take it that you’re both happy with the way that conversation went?”
“Very,” said Tanner. “Speaking for myself, anyway. How about you, Ashton? Do you have any more questions for me? Anything you want to tell me, or anything you want to know?”
Everly raised her eyebrows at her son, curious as to what he might have to say.
“I do have a question.”
“Fire away, bud. Ask me anything you like.”
“When do I get to meet you? I want to come to Montana.”
Of all the questions he might’ve asked, Everly certainly hadn’t expected that.
Tanner chuckled. “I think your mom has to answer that one, buddy.”
Ashton turned to look at her.
“I don’t know. We’ll have to talk about it. I just got back from there, and you have school.”
Ashton blew out a sigh. “So, you guys are just going to talk on the phone all the time, and I don’t get to do anything?”
“You’re talking on the phone, now,” Everly told him.
“And we can talk any time you like,” added Tanner. “Do you have your own phone?”
“Yeah, but it’s only for emergencies. It’s a dumb old flip phone and it only has a couple of numbers in it.”
Tanner was quiet. Everly felt bad for him, even if he wanted to offer his number so that he and Ashton could talk, he wouldn’t know if that was okay with her or not.
“If you guys really want to talk to each other, we can add Tanner’s number to your phone.”
“That’d be cool,” said Ashton.
“I think so,” said Tanner. “And I…” He stopped abruptly, and Everly guessed that he’d been about to suggest something but didn’t know if she’d approve.
Ashton smiled at her. “I should go and get ready for bed, right, Mom? That way Tanner can tell you whatever he wanted to say, and you can decide if we’re allowed to do whatever it is.”
Everly shook her head at him. Tanner laughed and said, “Sounds like a plan to me, kid. Hopefully I’ll talk to you again soon.”
“You will. I want to say goodnight before I go to bed.”
Everly nodded. “Okay, go up and get ready. Give me a shout when you’re in bed, and I’ll bring Tanner up.”
Ashton grinned at her as he slid down from the stool. Then, he leaned right in close to the phone where it sat on the counter, and said, “I won’t be long. Don’t forget – don’t hang up before I’m done.”
Everly had to swallow as she watched her son turn and run up the stairs. She’d been concerned about how he might feel about Tanner – more specifically, about her relationship with him. He wasn’t used to her dating anyone – he never had been, because she didn’t date.
“Did he go upstairs?” Tanner asked in a low voice.
She took the phone off speaker and held it up to her ear. “He did. I … I hope you’re okay with this. I don’t know what to say.”
The sound of his chuckle reassured her. “I’m more than okay with it. In fact, I was about to say those exact same words to you. I didn’t know how you’d feel about him calling me earlier – I didn’t even know if he’d tell you about it.”
“He told me. He was proud of himself, too.”
“As he should be.”
That made her smile. “You made his day with what you said – about wanting to talk to you man-to-man.”
“It was the truth.”
“Yeah, I suppose it was. He’s growing up faster than I give him credit for.”
“Maybe so, but you’re his mama; he’ll always be your little boy.”
“Aww. Aren’t you the smart one?”
“I don’t know about that; I can just tell that the two of you are close.”
“We are.”
“Is there any chance he can overhear you right now?”
She went to the bottom of the stairs, and relaxed when she heard him brushing his teeth. “No. He’s getting ready for bed.”
“Okay, what I didn’t want to ask while he was listening is…”
She laughed when he went quiet. “Go on, put me out of my misery. If nothing else, you need to ask quickly before he comes back.”
“You know how he talked about wanting to come up here?”
Her heart started to pound. Of course, she’d love to go back to Montana to visit – to take Ashton, and to see Tanner, and everything else but… “We can’t…”
“I know. What I was going to ask is, how would you feel if I came down there to see you guys?”
“I’d love it. I feel like I should probably take more time to consider the question, but I already know how I feel. I’d love it if you could come, and I think Ashton would, too. We’ll just have to figure out when we can make it happen.”
Tanner chuckled. “Already on it.”
“You are? When are you thinking?”
“How does tomorrow sound?”
“What?!”
“You heard me. If you want me to, I can be there by this time tomorrow.”
“Wow! I…”
“It’s okay, you don’t need to answer right now. Give it some thought, and let me know in the morning, if you want.”
“Ready, Mom! Are you coming up? Is Tanner still on the phone?”
She closed her eyes for a moment. Tanner could be here this time tomorrow? She bit down on her bottom lip as her heart and mind raced. Would that be crazy? Probably. Did she want him to come? Absolutely.
“He is,” she called back. “I’ll be right up. Tanner has something to ask you.”
“Is that a yes?” Tanner asked.
“It is. We might be crazy, Tanner, but it doesn’t seem crazy. It seems…” She couldn’t think of the word, but he provided it for her.
“I know… It seems right, doesn’t it?”
“It does.”
She had to laugh when Ashton yelled from the top of the stairs, “Are you coming? What does he want to ask?”
~ ~ ~
“Do you have any idea what time you’ll be back on Sunday?” Kolby asked. They were on their way up to the airport in Livingston, where they were meeting Cash. Cash had decided to come home for the weekend and asked if Tanner wanted to use the jet.
Tanner’s answer had been hell yeah, but at the time, he hadn’t known what Everly’s answer would be. As it turned out, both she and Ashton were eager for him to visit.
“I don’t, yet. We can check with Cash. He said that he’ll need to leave in the evening, but he didn’t say what time.”
“Just let me know if you want me to come pick you up. It doesn’t make a difference what time it is.”
“Thanks.”
“Not a problem. Although, don’t be surprised if Callie’s with me and wants to ask you a million questions.”
Tanner grinned. “Even if she’s not with you, I’ll no doubt have to face an inquisition when I get home. I’ve heard from every single one of the girls today.”
Kolby rolled his eyes. “Don’t let them gang up on you; take your time and figure it out for yourself.”
“Thanks. The weird thing is, I’ve already figured it out.”
Kolby shot him a puzzled look before turning his attention back to the road.
“She’s it for me, Kolby.”
His brother nodded slowly. “I’m not going to question you about that – if you know, you know. I get it. That’s how it was for me with Callie. But what about the kid?”
Tanner shrugged. “I’m not worried. He sounds like a great little guy. I mean, I need to get to know him, and he needs to get to know me, but I don’t foresee too many problems.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“Yeah, me too.”
When they arrived at the airport, the jet had just landed, and Tanner was surprised to see Mav walking across the tarmac with Cash.
“Did you know he was coming?” Kolby asked.
“No. It’s been so long since he came with Cash that I just assumed we wouldn’t see him this time, either.”
When Cash reached them, he hugged Kolby before turning to Tanner and wrapping his arm around his neck, knocking his hat off in the process. Tanner just gave in – there was no point in even trying to struggle.
Cash laughed as he rubbed his knuckles across Tanner’s head. At the sound of Mav laughing as well, Tanner turned his head so fast that he almost choked himself on Cash’s arm. Cash let go of him with a grin.
“Isn’t that a beautiful sound?” he asked.
Mav scowled at him. “Fuck off!”
Cash just laughed. “Get over it! You’ve been a miserable bastard for so long that you can’t complain when people are surprised to hear you laugh.”
To Tanner’s surprise, Mav simply shrugged. “I hope your weekend goes well,” he told Tanner.
“Thanks. You too.” Tanner was curious why Mav was here, but he knew better than to ask.
Cash winked at him. “We’re going to head on down to the ranch. Bear’s getting the plane refueled; it shouldn’t be too long before you’re on your way. Let me know how you’re doing?”
“Will do, and thanks again.”
“Not a problem – it’s my pleasure.”
“What time do I need to be back on Sunday?”
Cash cocked an eyebrow at Mav, and Mav made a face. “I’d rather you send the plane back tonight; that way, Bear can come pick you up before we leave on Sunday.”
“That’s a lot of extra fuel to pay for just so that you can feel like you have an escape hatch,” said Cash.
Mav shrugged. “It’s not like we can’t afford it, is it?”
“That’s up to you, then. Although…” Cash turned to Tanner. “If Mr. Moneybags here isn’t worried about the fuel cost, instead of going to visit, you could pick your girl and her son up and bring them back here for the weekend. Then, take them home on Sunday afternoon. As long as you’re back here by the time we need to leave, that would work.”
Tanner crammed his hat back onto his head as he considered it. “I don’t know … I …”
“See how you go,” Mav told him. “I don’t want you or your girl to feel like you’re under any pressure. If she wants to come back with you, great. If not, send the plane back. We’ll figure out what needs to happen on Sunday on Sunday.”
Tanner grinned at him. “Thanks.”
Mav nodded. “Sure thing.”
Kolby shook his head as they watched Cash and Mav walk out to the parking lot where they climbed into a black Suburban that was waiting.
“What the hell do you think’s going on there?”
“I have no idea, but I’m curious as hell. Tell you what, if you figure it out while I’m gone, let me know, would you? In fact, keep me in the loop? I feel like something’s about to go down.”
“Me too. And you know, if you don’t want to miss whatever it is, you could do what Cash suggested and see if Everly wants to come here for the weekend.”
Tanner nodded slowly. “Maybe. I could ask her. I…” He smiled. “Ashton already said that he wants to come visit. I’m going there instead because it didn’t seem feasible to get them up here.”
Kolby grinned. “Looks pretty feasible from where I’m standing.”
“I’ll see how it goes. Although…”
“What? What’s up?”
“How would it work? If I bring them, where will they stay?”
“Ah. I didn’t even think about that. Are you and Everly… I mean, does Ashton know…?”
Tanner chuckled. “I think that boy knows more than he lets on about a lot of things. But if you’re talking about me and Everly sharing a bed, I’m no wiser than you are. Now that you come to mention it, I don’t even know what the plan is if I stay there. For all I know, she might have me set up in a guestroom while Ashton gets used to the idea of me being with his mom.”
Kolby smirked at him. “Even if that’s the case, I don’t see it stopping you.”
Tanner grinned. “You know me.” His smile faded. “Then again, maybe I need to be careful.”
“You do, but I still don’t see that being an issue for you.”
“No.” It was strange, Tanner knew exactly what Kolby meant – that he wouldn’t let circumstances stop him from sleeping with Everly. But in his gut, he knew that he’d rather keep this a platonic visit than risk doing anything that might upset Ashton.