Chapter Nineteen
“Do you think he’ll let me see inside the plane?” Ashton asked.
“I don’t know; there might not be time. It might just drop him off and then leave again.”
Everly couldn’t blame her son for being excited at the prospect of seeing inside a private jet. She wasn’t sure what she made of it herself. She hadn’t had the chance to process much of anything since she’d spoken to Tanner this morning – when he’d asked if she’d be able to meet him at the hangar at Jacobs Estate.
As she followed Hannah’s SUV to a part of the estate that she hadn’t seen before, she still wasn’t sure that she understood how this had worked out.
Tanner had told her that he was coming in his brother’s jet. At first, she thought that meant he’d be landing in San Francisco and driving up here. But that wasn’t the case. It turned out that he’d served in the Navy with a guy who grew up in Napa. That guy was Xander Jacobs – Hannah’s brother – and when Tanner had called Xander to ask him where the best place for the jet to land would be, Xander had told him that they could use the runway here on the estate.
She was still struggling with what a small world it was. She read something once about everyone only being six degrees of separation from everyone else, but it turned out that she and Tanner were connected even more closely than that.
Hannah parked in front of a long, low white building, and Everly pulled in beside her.
When they got out of the car, Hannah grinned at her. “I’ll leave you guys to it.”
“Are you sure? What if…” She didn’t even know what she was asking.
Hannah pointed to the sky. “Don’t worry, you won’t have long to wait. That’ll be him. I’m leaving so that you can say hello to each other without worrying about me hanging around. Of course, I want to meet him. If you guys want to pop in over the weekend, just give us a shout. Grady’s working lunchtime tomorrow, but other than that, he’s off. At the same time, don’t feel like you need to. We can meet him next time.”
“Okay, thanks.” Everly looked up at the plane that was now descending rapidly toward the runway.
Hannah reached out and touched her arm. “Relax. Have fun. You deserve it.” She smiled at Ashton. “Have a good weekend.”
Everly didn’t know whether to be thrilled or worried when she saw how excited her son was.
“It’s going to be the best weekend ever!” he told Hannah.
She rested her hand on his shoulder as Hannah drove away.
“Look, Mom! It’s landing. How cool is that?”
“Very cool.” It was, she could even admit it to herself. If someone had told her when she was sitting at the bar at Chico that the sexy bartender would be flying into Napa on a private jet to see her, she would have told them that they were crazy. Now, she felt like she might be the crazy one. But crazy or not, she was going to roll with it.
She’d had a chat with Ashton about not expecting too much. She’d been honest with him that while she and Tanner were both interested in getting to know each other better, neither of them knew how things would go. She didn’t want Ashton getting his hopes up – or getting attached. Of course, her own hopes were higher than they should be at this point, but she was an adult, she knew how to deal with disappointment. She needed to be very careful about how she handled this for Ashton’s sake.
“Look, Mom! The door’s opening. Is that him?”
Everly watched a man, who had to be in his fifties, open the door and let the steps down. He was a big guy, tall and muscular. He was attractive, but no, he was no Tanner.
“No. I think he must be the pilot.” Her heart leapt into her chest when the pilot stood back, and Tanner appeared. If her son weren’t standing there with her, she might have to fan herself with her hand – Tanner was just that hot. He was wearing jeans and a black denim shirt. And of course, he was wearing a cowboy hat – a black one.
“Oh my god, Mom! Is that him? Say that’s him! He’s so freaking cool!”
She couldn’t keep the smile off her face even as she admonished him, “Ashton, language.”
“Okay, I know, sorry. But please say that’s him?”
“That’s him.”
As her son punched the air in a victorious gesture that was more than unusual for him, Everly made a mental note to keep an eye on him, to make sure that he didn’t get caught up in some kind of hero worship. She had no frame of reference for this; she hadn’t introduced him to a guy she was seeing before – because she didn’t see any.
When Tanner reached the bottom of the steps and gave them that cute little wave of his, it was easy to give herself a pass. What woman wouldn’t make an exception for him?
Ashton tugged on her arm. “Come on. Let’s go say hi.”
She happily let him lead her – wondering what it was about Tanner that appealed to him so much. He was usually timid around strangers.
When Tanner reached them, he dropped his duffel bag on the tarmac and grinned at them.
“I made it. It’s good to see you.”
Ashton stared up at him with his mouth open.
She didn’t want to embarrass him, but she did want to introduce them properly. She was grateful to Tanner when he squatted down to get closer to Ashton’s eye level.
Her heart melted in her chest when he extended his hand to her son and said, “Hey, bud. I feel like we’re already friends since we talked on the phone. But I should still introduce myself properly; I’m Tanner.”
Everly’s hand came up to cover her heart as she watched the two of them shake hands. “I’m Ashton.”
Tanner winked at him. “I know. Is it okay if I say hello to your mom? I didn’t want to do that until we were properly acquainted.”
Ashton glanced up at her. She could see the wheels turning inside his head. After a moment, he nodded. “Yeah. You should.”
Everly closed her eyes when Tanner rested his hands on her shoulders and leaned in to kiss her cheek.
“I missed you,” he breathed next to her ear before straightening up again with a smile and saying in a louder voice, “It’s good to see you again. I’m glad we could make this work.”
“Me too.” She was still trying to take in the fact that he was actually here. “Do you need to do anything before we go? What about the pilot? Can we give him a ride anywhere?”
“He’s fine. He …” The way he hesitated made her a little nervous.
“Is everything okay?” she asked.
“Everything’s great.” He leaned in and pecked her cheek again. “Now that I’m here with you guys, everything’s awesome. I do have something I need to ask you but…”
Ashton picked up Tanner’s duffel bag. “I can go put this in the car.”
Tanner grinned as they watched him go. “He’s one smart cookie, isn’t he?”
“He is. He’s too smart for my own good. So, what did you want to ask?”
“I didn’t want to ask in front of him, because I think I know what his answer will be. And I don’t want to force your hand.”
“Ask me what?”
“If you guys want to come to the ranch for the weekend? I should have shot you a quick text to ask you before we took off. It was only when I got to the airport that my brother suggested I could bring you back there for the weekend.”
Everly just stared at him. “I … I don’t know. I …”
He ducked in and pressed a quick kiss to her lips. “If you don’t want to, just say so. It’s fine. It was just with the way Ashton said he wanted to see Montana. I know that in the normal run of things, we wouldn’t be able to get him up there for a while with school and everything. Being able to borrow the jet like this…” He shrugged. “It’s totally up to you.”
She turned to look at Ashton, who was taking his time putting Tanner’s bag in the trunk. She knew that he would absolutely love it. To fly in a private jet? To get to see Montana – and meet a whole bunch of cowboys? How could she say no?
“We’d have to pack a bag. And would we be able to get back by Sunday evening? I have to get him ready for school on Monday.”
Tanner grinned. “That’s why Bear – the pilot – isn’t going anywhere just yet. I knew that you’d need to pack a bag if you wanted to come. And yeah, we’d get back here probably late Sunday afternoon.”
She swallowed. “He won’t know what to do with himself, he’ll be so freaking excited.”
Tanner grinned. “We can show him plenty to do. First, there’s the plane – I still think that’s kinda cool, never mind him. Then, when we get there, there’s so much for him to see and do. If he wants to do cowboys shit, there’s plenty of it. He can ride a horse. We can go to Yellowstone, if you guys want to do that.” He met her gaze and held it. “I’d really love to take you guys home with me.”
Her heart pounded. It felt like he was talking about more than the weekend. But no, she couldn’t let her mind go there. Just dealing with what it would take to go for the weekend was plenty enough for now.
A smile spread across her face as she nodded. “Are you sure you want to do this? Because once we tell him, there’ll be no turning back.”
His eyes seemed to twinkle as he nodded. “I’ve never been more sure of anything, darlin’. Do you want to tell him?”
“No.” His smile vanished, and she reached out to touch his arm. “I meant that I think you should tell him.”
He grinned. “Hey, Ashton?”
Everly’s heart was full of hope as she watched her son come hurrying back over to join them.
“Yeah?”
“You know how I’m supposed to come and stay with you guys this weekend?”
Ashton reacted in much the same way that Tanner had a few moments ago – his eager smile vanished.
A rush of warmth filled Everly’s chest when Tanner rested his hand on her son’s shoulder. “Don’t look so worried, bud. If I don’t come to stay with you, it’ll be because we do something else. I plan to hang out with you guys for the weekend one way or another. I just have a different suggestion.”
“What kind of suggestion?”
Tanner grinned. “Instead of me coming to stay with you, how about you guys come to stay with me?”
Ashton didn’t react for a moment or two. Then, he yelled so loudly that Everly covered her ears.
“Yes!” He punched the air and ran around in little circles.
Tanner grinned at her as they watched. “I take it that’s a yes?” he asked when Ashton finally seemed a little calmer.
“Yes!” He looked up at the plane. “Are we going right now? Do I need to get your bag back out of the car?”
“We need to run home and pack ourselves a bag before we can go,” said Everly. She expected some resistance to that, but Ashton nodded eagerly. “Let’s go, then.” He looked up at Tanner. “I want to show you my cowboy books. We won’t get to read them now, but…”
Everly wanted to pinch herself. This couldn’t be real. Tanner was smiling at her son and saying, “We can still read them. We can take them with us.”
Tanner smiled over his shoulder at her when Ashton took hold of his sleeve and started tugging him toward the car.
~ ~ ~
“Whoa! Look at the mountains, Mom! Look at the snow! Will it be dark by the time we get there? I hope it’s not.”
“I think it will be,” said Everly.
Tanner grinned at her. “It will, but don’t worry, you’ll be able to see the mountains when you wake up in the morning.”
Ashton finally dragged his gaze away from the mountains. He’d spent most of the flight with his nose up against the window. Now, he looked puzzled, maybe concerned.
“What’s up, bud?”
The way he wrinkled his nose made Tanner smile – he looked just like Everly when she did that.
“You said when I wake up in the morning. Where am I going to sleep?”
“You and your mom are going to stay at my house.”
“On your ranch?”
“Yeah. But you know it’s not just my ranch, don’t you? It’s my family’s ranch.”
“Do you still live with your mom and dad?”
Tanner chuckled. “No. My mom died when I was small, and my dad doesn’t live there anymore.”
Ashton studied him for a moment. “Where does he live?”
“He’s been in the hospital for a long time. He’s sick.”
“That sucks.”
Tanner shrugged. “He’s better off in there.”
“Do you go to see him much?”
“No. He’s kind of mean.”
Ashton nodded as if he understood. “I don’t see my dad, either. He’s not interested in me.”
Tanner glanced at Everly, not knowing how or if he should respond to that.
“It’s not that he’s not interested in you – he doesn’t know you,” Everly began.
Ashton cut her off. “It’s okay, Mom. I know you tell me nice things so that I won’t feel bad, but I don’t feel bad. I know how it works. Some dads aren’t interested in their kids. It doesn’t bother me.”
Tanner could only watch as Everly stared at her son. His words had obviously taken her by surprise.
“I don’t just tell you nice things,” she said eventually. “I try to tell you the truth.”
Ashton smiled at Tanner. “Mom looks out for me, but I know the deal.”
Tanner nodded. He didn’t want to wade in where he had no business, but he didn’t want either of them to feel bad. “Obviously, I don’t know your dad. I don’t know what the deal is. All I know is that I’m glad he’s not in the picture because if he were, I wouldn’t have the chance to be with either of you.”
He sensed, more than saw, Everly turning to look at him. He hoped she wasn’t mad at him for what he’d said, but he didn’t turn away from Ashton, who was holding his gaze. When the kid smiled and nodded, Tanner felt himself relax.
When he dared to turn to Everly, he was relieved when she smiled, too.
“I’m glad that we all have the chance to hang out together like this and get to know each other.” She turned to Ashton. “And if the time comes when you and your dad want to get to know each other, we’ll make that happen, too. It’s not like you need to choose.”
Tanner nodded, sensing that he might have messed up. “Yeah, I hope that I get to spend more time with you guys, but that has nothing to do with you and your dad getting to know each other. He’ll always be your dad.”
Ashton laughed. “You guys don’t need to try so hard. He’s never been interested in me, and I’m not interested in him. It’s all okay. I’m not worried about it.”
“I just need you to know that if that changes, we’ll figure it out,” Everly told him.
“I know.” Ashton turned to look back out the window, and Tanner cocked an eyebrow at Everly.
She gave him a slight nod, and he held his hand out to her. When he waggled his fingers, she smiled and placed her hand in his. He closed his eyes and breathed in. This was the first time that he’d dared to show any physical affection in front of Ashton. He was relieved that she hadn’t rejected him, and more than that, her hand in his still felt the same kind of small, soft, and right, as it had before she left Montana.
“Wow! Look, guys!” Ashton spun around to face them, and Tanner opened his fingers, expecting Everly to withdraw her hand.
She didn’t. Instead, she smiled at her son, and asked, “What have you spotted now?”
Ashton forgot whatever landmark outside the window had caught his attention. He grinned and pointed at their joined hands. “That! That’s awesome!”
“You know I like to be honest with you about as much as I can. I’m not going to try and hide what’s going on from you. I think you already know that Tanner and I like each other.”
“Duh! He wouldn’t be here if you didn’t, would he?”
Tanner had to laugh. “And you’re okay with it?”
Ashton rolled his eyes. “Course I am. Mom’s never had a boyfriend. And you’re cool. I think it’d be awesome if you guys got married. Then we could move to Montana with you.”
Everly froze, and Tanner understood why. She was no doubt scared of how he would react to Ashton’s words. He squeezed her hand. He didn’t know if she’d believe him if he told her.
“We’re just dating,” she said.
Tanner couldn’t help it; he winked at Ashton. “But it would be kind of cool if we could move you guys to Montana, wouldn’t it?”
Everly swung her head around to look at him, and he winked at her, too.