Chapter Twenty
By the time they were almost to the ranch, Ashton was still fascinated by everything he could see outside the window. He’d fallen in love with Tanner’s truck the moment he laid eyes on it. Apparently, Ty and Shayna had delivered it to the airport for him so that he’d be able to drive them home himself. When Tanner had opened the door, Ashton had scrambled into the back seat as if he were a mountain goat. Even though it was dark outside, he kept exclaiming about the river, about how big, and dark the sky was, and about all the stars.
Everly loved seeing him so enthusiastic. She’d told Tanner that he was on the quiet side, but she wouldn’t blame him if he didn’t believe her.
As the truck slowed, Ashton pressed his nose up against the window. “MacFarland Ranch,” he read the sign that hung above the entrance to the driveway. “And you’re Tanner MacFarland. That’s so cool!”
Tanner chuckled. “It is, but I’m not as cool as you might think. It’s not just my ranch. You’ll get to meet most of my family this weekend. The first one you’ll probably see is Ford. He lives in the big house with me.”
“What are all their names again?” Ashton asked.
“Cash is the oldest. He doesn’t live here, but he’s home this weekend so you’ll get to meet him. Then, from oldest to youngest, there’s Ford, Wade, then me. Next are my sisters, Laney and Janey – they’re twins. And Ty and Kolby are the youngest – they’re twins, too.”
“You guys all have such cool names.”
Everly shot Tanner an apologetic look. This had to be the fourth time that Ashton had asked about his siblings. He just smiled; he seemed to be enjoying it.
“I think Ashton’s a cool name. And Everly is, too.”
“Yeah, but not like you guys. Tanner MacFarland .”
Everly laughed at the way he said it – he sounded like he was introducing one of the contenders in a boxing match.
“I like Ashton Welsh ,” Tanner announced in the same tone. “I think that sounds cool.”
“Meh.”
Everly shook her head. Ashton’s disinterested tone felt like a mini preview of what it would be like to deal with him as a teenager – she wasn’t looking forward to it.
Tanner pulled the truck around the back of the house. “Anyway, here we are. Wait right there.” He got out of the truck.
As he walked around to the passenger side, Ashton unfastened his seat belt and leaned forward between the seats. “He’s awesome, Mom! Thanks for saying that we could come here.”
She ruffled his hair. “I’m glad you’re excited about it. I know you wanted to see Montana.”
“Montana’s awesome. But Tanner’s even better.”
Tanner opened Ashton’s door. “Do you need a hand?”
“I’m good.”
Everly turned but couldn’t see, so she held her breath as she listened to her son jump to the ground and land on the gravel.
Tanner opened her door with a smile. “Don’t worry, Mama, he made it safe.” He offered her his hand to help her down, and she took it gratefully – it was a long way to the ground.
“We can leave the bags here for now; I’ll come back out for them later. Let’s show you around first.”
“Awesome,” said Ashton. “I want to see. And I can help you get the bags.”
Tanner led them up the steps to the back porch. He held the door open for them and ushered them into the kitchen.
Ashton turned around in a circle, taking everything in. “Wow! I thought log cabins were supposed to be small. This place is huge!”
“Hey, there.”
Ashton froze and stared as Ford came down the hallway toward the kitchen.
“It’s good to see you again, Everly. And it’s nice to meet you, you must be Ashton.”
Ashton’s eyes were huge as he nodded. Everly could understand why. Ford was a big guy, she could see how Ashton might feel a little intimidated as he towered over him.
It seemed that Ford understood that, too. He did the same thing that Tanner had done and squatted down to offer Ashton his hand.
“I’m Ford, Tanner’s brother.”
“Tanner’s big brother,” Ashton said as they shook hands.
Ford chuckled. “Yeah, I guess I am. Are you busy right now?”
Ashton frowned and glanced over at Everly.
She shook her head. “You’re good.”
He turned back to Ford. “No. Why?”
“I got a room ready for you. I’ll show it to you if you want – make sure it’s going to be okay and see if you need anything.”
Ashton looked over at Everly again, and she nodded. To her surprise, he checked in with Tanner, too.
“You go ahead, bud. We’ll be right here. Are you going to be hungry?”
“Yes.”
“Okay, I’ll see what I can find us.”
A strange feeling settled in Everly’s chest as she watched her son follow Ford up the log staircase. He looked so small in the big house, especially next to Ford.
Tanner came to her and rested his hands on her shoulders. “You doing okay?”
She smiled. “I’m doing great. I’m still trying to catch up with myself. I can’t believe that we’re here.”
“Me neither, but I won’t let that stop me from making the most of it.” He slid his arms around her waist and drew her closer until she was pressed up against his chest. “I missed you.”
She looped her arms around his neck. “I missed you, too.”
He lowered his head and brushed his lips over hers. “I’ve needed to kiss you since the moment I saw you again.”
She sighed as he rested his forehead against hers and looked down into her eyes. “Can I kiss you?”
“You better.”
He claimed her mouth in a searing kiss that left her breathless. It ended all too quickly, and she tightened her arms around his neck when he lifted his head.
“I’ve really missed you,” he said with a smile as he slid his hand down to cup her ass. He held her so close that there was no missing the way his hard length pressed into her stomach.
She laughed. “In a big way, it would seem.”
He grinned. “You could say that.”
Her smile faded. “But how… How’s this going to work?”
“What do you mean?”
She glanced up at the stairs, but there was no sign of Ford and Ashton. “Did Ford get a room ready for me, too?”
Tanner’s eyebrows shot up. “I… I don’t know. I didn’t think. Shit! I just assumed… But Ashton. I don’t know what Ford assumed. Would it be a bad idea if…”
“I don’t know. I should have thought about it before now. I was so busy getting used to the idea that we were coming here, that I didn’t even stop to think about the sleeping arrangements.”
He squeezed her ass. “I think you know what I’d like to arrange.”
“I’m sure I do. And I hope you know that I’d like that, too. This isn’t a situation I’ve found myself in before.” She blew out a sigh as she mulled it over. “You know what? I think I just have to be honest with him. I always try to be.”
Tanner held her gaze. “Only if you’re comfortable with it. There’s no big rush. At least, I’m hoping that we’ll have plenty of time to get him used to the idea.”
“I hope so, and I think it’s better to be honest from the start.”
“Okay. If you’re sure. If you’re not, we can set you up with your own room – I’ll just have to sneak in after he’s gone to bed, and sneak back out before dawn,” he said with a smile.
Everly frowned. “No. I don’t like that. It doesn’t seem right.”
“Sorry. I shouldn’t even joke about it.”
“It’s okay. I understand why you would.”
“Yeah, but I understand that it’s best to be up front with the little guy. No lies. He’s too smart to try fooling him with anything.”
She laughed. “You can say that again.”
~ ~ ~
When he and Ford came back into the kitchen, Ashton was wearing a huge smile, and a cowboy hat.
“Look what Uncle Ford gave me! And it fits!”
“Wow!” Everly exclaimed. “Look at you! It suits you.” She smiled at Ford. “Thank you, that’s so kind of you.”
Ford nodded happily. “I was up in Clyde Park this afternoon. When I heard that you guys were coming, I figured Ashton might need his own hat. I was lucky that Murdoch’s was still open when I came back through town.”
Tanner gave his brother a puzzled smile. He couldn’t be more grateful, but Ford was the last of his siblings he would’ve expected to go out of his way for the kid. Ford lifted a shoulder.
“It looks like you haven’t had time to figure out what you’re going to eat yet,” he said. “There are plenty of frozen pizzas if you like those. Or we can rustle you up something else?”
Tanner felt guilty. He’d made the most of his first few minutes alone with Everly, but he hadn’t done anything about feeding the kid.
“I like pizza,” Ashton piped up.
“Then let’s get one in the oven, why don’t we?” Ford said with a smile.
Tanner loved the way Ashton followed him around the kitchen, helping him to set the table and get drinks ready while Everly chatted with Ford.
“How do you like your room?”
“It’s awesome! Uncle Ford said that when the sun comes up in the morning, I’ll be able to see the mountain.”
“You will. And when you get up, we can go down to see the horses, if you want.”
Ashton nodded so vigorously that it made Tanner laugh. “You like horses, then?”
“Yeah! Will you teach me how to ride one? Uncle Ford said that you’re like a horse whisperer.”
Tanner smiled. “I don’t know about that, but I do love them, and I love working with them.” He glanced over at his brother and Everly. “How come you call him Uncle Ford?” He didn’t want to come right out and ask if Ashton or Ford had been the one to come up with that, but he was curious.
Ashton’s little brows drew together. “I dunno … He’s your brother, so… Sorry. I won’t say it anymore if you don’t like it.” He looked so worried that Tanner went to him and squatted down beside him.
“Hey, it’s not a problem. I do like it.” He waited until Ashton met his gaze before adding, “To tell you the truth, I guess I’m a little bit jealous.”
Ashton gave him a puzzled look.
“You call him uncle, but I’m just Tanner,” he explained.
“Yeah, but that’s because … You know. He’d be my uncle if you were my …”
Shit! Tanner knew he should have figured that out for himself. “Right,” he said slowly.
“Sorry.” Ashton looked so crestfallen that Tanner felt terrible.
“Hey, no sorries. There’s no need for them. I’m sorry for being such a dipstick and not figuring out what you meant.” He didn’t know if the kid was too old for it, but he held his arm out and asked, “Want a hug?”
He needn’t have worried about offending him; Ashton flung himself at him, wrapped his arms tight around his neck, and clung on as if his life depended on it.
As Tanner closed his arms around his skinny little body and hugged him back, he had to swallow around the lump in his throat. He’d liked Ashton as soon as he’d spoken to him on the phone, but the warm, buzzing feeling that filled his chest as he held him in his arms like this caught him off guard.
He squeezed his eyes tight shut when Ashton whispered next to his ear, “I want you to be my dad.”
He hugged the kid closer and whispered back, “I want that, too, kiddo. I just need to prove to your mom that I’m up to the job – for you, and for her.”
Ashton leaned back so that he could look into Tanner’s eyes. “You are. I know you are. She’s pretty smart – for a girl. She’ll see it.”
Tanner chuckled and gave him one last squeeze before he let him go. “So, we’re in this together?”
“Hell yeah!” Ashton held his fist up, and as Tanner bumped his against it, he knew that he now had even more riding on this – the kid had already claimed a place in his heart, right alongside his mom.
By the time they were done with dinner, Ashton was yawning nonstop.
“We need to get you ready for bed, sweetheart,” Everly told him.
“Not yet! Me and Tanner still need to bring the bags in from the truck.”
“He’s right,” Tanner agreed. “But it won’t take us long.”
“Okay.” Everly smiled. “But remember that the later you go to bed, the later you’ll sleep in in the morning. And the day starts early on a ranch.”
Tanner was impressed. Her words had the desired effect on Ashton. It was obvious that he was weighing his options, and he reached the conclusion that he’d rather go to sleep now than miss out on whatever tomorrow might bring.
“Let’s go and grab those bags, shall we, bud?”
When they came back inside, he was tempted to hang around while the kid got ready for bed, but he didn’t want to intrude on their routine. He hadn’t forgotten that Ashton had said they could read his cowboy book together, but he didn’t know if that’d be too much for tonight.
He hung around on the landing, listening to them chat. He loved the relationship they shared – and that warm, buzzing feeling filled his chest again as he hoped that he might come to be a part of it.
When he heard Everly saying goodnight, he couldn’t resist any longer. He went and popped his head around the bedroom door.
“Are you going to be okay in here? Do you have everything you need?”
Ashton gave him a sleepy smile. “I’m great. This is awesome.” His smile faded. “Where do you sleep?”
“Right at the end of the hall. If you wake up in the night and you need anything, you take a right out of here and come knock on the very last door – that’s my room.”
“Okay. And you’ll be there too, right, Mom?”
Tanner shot a quick glance at Everly. She smiled as she said, “I will. I’ll be right there if you need me.”
“Okay. Goodnight.” He turned over onto his side and closed his eyes.
After a few moments, Tanner raised his eyebrows. Ashton looked as though he was asleep, but Tanner didn’t know if it was physically possible to just shut down like that.
Everly ran her hand over the kid’s hair and said, “Love you, Ash,” in a low voice.
Ashton muttered something that could be, love you, Mom, without even opening his eyes.
Everly smiled at Tanner and jerked her head toward the door. Once they were out on the landing, she pulled the door almost shut but didn’t close it.
“Do you think he’ll be all right?” Tanner asked.
“He’ll be fine; he sleeps like a log. Once he’s out, he’s out.”
Tanner chuckled. “And he goes out like a light?”
“He does.”
“What do you think then, darlin’? Do you want a drink? Or are you ready for bed?”
“How about a drink in bed?” The gleam in her eyes made him forget that she was such a great mom and had him right back to being the guy who couldn’t wait to get a girl into bed. No, scratch that – he no longer wanted to get a girl into bed – he wanted his girl in his bed.
~ ~ ~
They said goodnight to Ford, and Tanner grabbed a bottle of bourbon from the liquor cabinet in the dining room. When they got back upstairs to his room, he closed the door behind them and leaned back against it.
Everly went and sat on the edge of the bed.
“You doing okay?”
She smiled. “I am. I’m just trying to take it all in. I never dreamed that I’d be back here again so soon and definitely not like this – with Ashton.”
Tanner grinned and came to sit beside her. He poured two glasses of bourbon and handed her one.
“He’s an amazing kid.”
“He is. He’s taken a shine to you.”
Tanner nodded slowly.
All her breath caught in her chest. He looked … worried. “What? What’s wrong? Don’t you like it? Is it a bit much?” She hated the idea that the way Ashton so obviously adored Tanner might be off-putting for him – even though she could understand it.
“No! God no. I love it. I love the way we clicked right from our first sneaky little phone call.”
“What then? Because you don’t look thrilled. It’s okay if he’s too much for you. I don’t blame you, I understand, but I don’t want him to …”
“Slow down, darlin’.” He cupped her cheek in his hand and held her gaze with his.
She sucked in a deep breath and waited.
“If I looked worried, I was. But not for the reasons you’re thinking. Ashton’s awesome. He … we ... we just clicked. I don’t know how else to say it. You’re right; he has taken a shine to me, and the feeling’s mutual. It’s not too much for me – far from it. What I’m worried about is that might be too much too soon for you .”
She frowned. “I don’t understand. What might be too much?”
“You heard how he kept calling Ford Uncle Ford , right?”
“I did. I didn’t know if I should pull him up about that, but Ford didn’t seem to mind, and he was just so excited and thrilled about it that I didn’t want to rain on his parade. At least not tonight, I thought we could figure it out over the weekend.”
“There’s no need – unless you don’t like it. Ford loved it. I bet the others will, too. But coming back to the part that might be a bit much for you.” He took a big swig of his drink before he continued. “I asked him about it. To tell you the truth, I was a little bit jealous that Ford gets to be Uncle while I’m just Tanner. And …” He ran his hand through his hair. “Well, don’t be mad at me?”
She made a face. “I will if you don’t tell me soon! You’ve got me worried here.”
“Okay, so. He said that Ford would be his uncle for real if …”
Everly just stared at him.
Tanner gave her a half smile. “You’re not going to help me out here, are you? Okay, I’ll just go ahead and say it. If I were his dad, then Ford would be his uncle.”
All her breath caught in her chest and she stared at him, not knowing what to say as her mind raced. She didn’t want Tanner to feel like he was under pressure. Hated that Ashton was so desperately wishing for a family to belong to that he’d decided that Ford – who no matter how kind he’d been, was still a total stranger – should be his uncle. And did her son want a dad so desperately that …?”
“Breathe, darlin’.”
Tanner’s words cut through the thoughts swirling around in her head. She did as he said and took a couple deep breaths.
His smile made her relax a little – until he spoke again. “I didn’t know if I should tell you yet, but he says he wants me to be his dad.”
“Shit! I’m sorry. I …”
“I’m not. I might have kept it a secret between him and me, but I think it’s only fair that I should tell you – that’s what I want, too.”
“You …?”
He nodded happily. “I thought I’d take the weekend to convince you that it’s a good move. That even though this might seem crazy because we haven’t known each other for long, we’re right for each other. You and me? We’re right. Ashton and me? We’re right, too. And maybe the easiest part for you to accept is that my family’s right for him, too.”
All she could do was stare at him. “Are you serious?”
“I am. You can take all the time you need to get used to it, but however long it takes, you’ll see that I’m right eventually.”
She let out a short laugh. “And pretty sure of yourself, too.”
“I am. I know that I want the two of you in my life – to be my life. I know that we’re right for each other. I also get that you might need time to see it, and more than that to trust it so …” He smiled as he shrugged.
He picked up both their glasses and handed hers to her. He downed the last of his bourbon and said, “So, take all the time you need. In the meantime, drink up so I can get you naked and work on convincing you that you want to keep me around.”
Everly had to laugh. He was right, she was going to need some time to process what he’d told her. She knocked back her drink and as soon as she set the glass down, his arms curled around her waist, and he rolled them onto the bed.
With his green eyes smiling down into hers, she had a feeling that she wasn’t going to need much convincing.