48. Jensen
48
JENSEN
T he parking lot is pretty full for a Saturday afternoon, but I still spot Archer and Montana’s trucks near the entrance of Boots on Bar and Grill. Mama had come over not long after Nessa had left for Nashville, claiming she was done watchin’ me mope about.
I hadn’t even begun to mope, but no sooner had she arrived, Montana texted me, saying all the guys were meeting for lunch. It felt like a setup but I’m thankful all the same.
Opening up the door, I’m immediately hit with the delicious smell of burgers and fries, and it reminds me I skipped breakfast this morning.
So much for not moping.
Spotting Montana and Archer at a table on the side, I make my way over, waving to the owner, Jude Rhodes, behind the bar and a few patrons along the way. The bar had been owned by Jude’s father and they’d kept it in the family. T-shirts pinned to the ceiling in neat squares are brought in by customers. Jude’s father used to make the determination if the shirt was worthy of the ceiling but now, depending on Jude’s mood, he’ll let the patron pitch their story to the room and leave it to a vote.
It’d been a long-standing Blackstone Falls tradition and one the townsfolk loved dearly. I’d been lucky enough to witness a few in my time, and it was always the best kind of production.
“They running late?” I ask as I slide into a chair and nod toward the two empty ones.
Montana looks at Archer briefly. “Sort of.”
“How are things with Nessa?” Archer asks, pulling my focus back to him as he slides a beer my way.
“Great. She should be back in Nashville soon. She stopped over at the university and will be coaching over there once she retires.” I lower my voice. “That’s not official yet but she’s really excited.”
“I’m happy for you, man, and her,” Montana says, holding out his beer to me. I clink my glass against his and then Archer’s, each of us taking a sip.
“How long are you going to be gone?” Archer asks, his gaze sliding to Montana before returning to me. I’d outlined most of this in a group message with all of them but I’d humor them—for now.
“Most of the year. I mean, it’s only Nashville, but we’ll travel with Nessa as much as we can.” I shrug. “I’ve never traveled with a baby, but we’ll see what works for us and go from there.”
“And you’re set up to be away that long?” Montana asks, his gaze sliding to Archer. It’s not the weirdest thing these two have done but it’s up there.
“Uh, yeah. My parents are taking Scout for the time being,” I say, purposely misinterpreting the question.
“But are you all right?” Archer asks pointedly, and it’s my turn for my gaze to bounce between them like a ping-pong ball.
“I mean, I have time saved up from the department and family leave and I can always tap into my savings but—why are you asking?” Money wasn’t something we often talked about, but we didn’t not talk about it either.
Archer sits back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest, and gives Montana a nod. Montana grins like a fool before taking out a business card and sliding it across the table to me. It’s for Sundown Realty, the company that owns half the rentals in Blackstone Falls. They renovated a couple of cabins along Cedar Lake, and I heard they expanded out toward Nashville but I’d yet to confirm that.
There wasn’t a lot known about the owners, only that they’d hired local help and otherwise used a lawyer to handle all transactions. A lot of people did it around the country, picking up investment properties, but something always seemed off to me about Sundown Realty.
I stare at the card a beat longer and then look up at the way Archer’s lips twitch and the smile Montana still isn’t bothering to hide.
No fucking way.
“You’ve got to be kiddin’ me,” I say as I sit back in my own chair and take in the two most unassuming guys I know.
“We wanted to be able to supplement the income from our farms,” Archer says seriously. “We’ve had some hard years, and nothing is guaranteed.”
“I’d rather die than lose my family’s land,” Montana says earnestly.
“I think Ellison would have somethin’ to say about that,” I muse, and he snorts because he knows I’m right. That woman is hell on wheels, and I love knowing she’s made it her mission to ensure she can make him crazy at the drop of a hat.
“We took a chance,” Archer says, nodding at the card.
“Did better than we could’ve imagined.” Montana’s gaze is laser focused on mine as he says, “And we’d like to offer you a partnership.”
I open my mouth to respond but Archer holds up his hand. “You have a baby and you’re talkin’ about dipping into your savings to cover costs. Let us shoulder that with you. Even if you don’t use the money now, Remi will have a college fund and you’ll be able to take Nessa to some tropical island or whatever.”
“This isn’t a handout, Jensen. It’s a partnership, so we’ll give you something to do remotely while you’re away if it makes you feel better. And then when you’re home and settled, we can reassess what your official role will be.”
I pinch the bridge of my nose to ward off the tears that threaten to fall because what can you even say to something like this?
“Fuck, guys,” I manage when I look up.
“Let us help you,” Archer offers.
“There’s only one rule,” Montana says, his face unnaturally serious.
“What’s that?”
“No one knows and it has to stay that way.”
“I’m honestly shocked y’all have been able to keep this under wraps as well as you have.”
Archer shrugs. “No one expects a couple of guys like us to be the mastermind behind a multimillion dollar business.”
My eyes widen as I let that number sink in.
Holy shit.
“And you want me to be a part of it? Just jump into your success?”
“We’re securing our futures, so yeah, we wanna see you and Nessa and Remi taken care of. We want your only concern while you’re traveling to be when you can sneak a quickie with your girl.” Archer snorts but Montana’s eyes never leave mine. “Oh, and you can tell Nessa when you’re ready but same rules apply. She tells no one.”
“It’s the only way we’ll be able to continue running it the way we have. No one suspects us, so we’re able to move freely to do maintenance and check in on everything,” Archer adds, driving home the point.
“I don’t know what to say.”
“Say yes, man.”
I look back and forth between the two guys who have become a hell of a lot more than friends—they’re family.
“Yes.”
Montana whoops and pumps his fist while Archer reaches his hand across the table and I take it and shake.
“We’ll work out the details later,” Archer says quietly before raising his hand toward the door.
Looking up, I see Mason and Bodhi walking toward us, a gift bag in Mason’s hand.
“Do we even want to know what you have in there?” Montana asks with a wry grin.
Mason slides the bag in front of me. “Nah, it’ll be better to just see his reaction.”
Regretting this almost immediately, I pull out the tissue paper revealing two shirts and a onesie. The larger one is black with hot-pink lettering and the smaller one is hot-pink with black lettering. The onesie is white and I bark out a laugh as I read what he’s printed on all three.
“Good, right?”
“What’s it say?” Montana asks, making me laugh harder, and because I still can’t get it together, I throw it to him. The onesie reads Daddy works the street and has a small sheriff’s badge and under that it says Mommy plays the field with a soccer ball and net.
The large shirt says I’m Daddy and the smaller one says I’m Mommy.
Montana snickers and hands it to Archer, whose eyes go wide before he blushes and shakes his head.
“Thanks, man, these are great,” I say, nodding and putting them back in the bag. Nessa might not be ready to be called Mommy but I hope she’ll get there one day. And if nothing else, she’ll get a kick out of the shirt anyway.
“You’re welcome. And you know, things got so hectic with the holidays and everything that we’ve been slacking on game night,” Mason remarks, earning a groan from me and snickers from everyone else. I can admit I’m a terrible loser, and even though I like spending time with them, I almost always want to flip a table if it involves a muffin tin or a ping-pong ball.
“To be fair, Nessa hasn’t been able to experience one. I bet she’ll mop the floor with us,” Montana muses, taking a sip of his beer.
“Oh definitely, and now that you three,” Mason says, pointing to Montana, Archer, and me, “are all taken, and this guy,”—he points to Bodhi who scowls—“is boring, I have to do that stranger photo thing by myself.”
“The what?” Archer asks, his hand stopping halfway to his mouth, his glass suspended as he stares.
“Case’s wife is doing one of those photoshoots that pairs up strangers and they meet at whatever location and the photographer captures them seeing each other for the first time and then they take pictures and shit.”
“Thank God I have a girlfriend,” Archer groans as he wipes his hand down his face. “Could you imagine?” His expression is absolutely horrified, and it has the rest of us cracking up as the waitress comes to take our order.
I don’t know how long we stay there, but by the time we say goodbye, I feel like I’ve left every ounce of uncertainty at the table. My life with Nessa and Remi is just beginning, and I can’t wait to join my girl in Nashville.